


The Wolf

by IllusionWriter



Series: Fear The Walking Mutes [2]
Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: Adoption, Backstory, Betrayal, Character Death, Character Study, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Minor Character Death, Post-Apocalypse, Pre-Canon, Sad, Slice of Life, Survival, Survival Training, Swearing, Tags May Change, Thriller, Wolves, alternative universe, bojustu staffs are cool, so bring a candle i guess, this is going to get dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:26:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23470141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllusionWriter/pseuds/IllusionWriter
Summary: Every wolf has a pack. And you can't become a lone one without losing one first. It's what she's experienced far too many times.
Series: Fear The Walking Mutes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728472
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	1. We Love You

Light rain dribbled down from the cloudy night sky, contacting against everything within reach. An occasional low rumble emitted in the distance and rolled on until eventually fading before another shortly took it’s place, a warning of stormy weather approaching.

“There’s nothing here either...”

The silhouette of three humans shuffled around the driver’s side of the fourth and final car in the small clearing as they closed the last door of the vehicle they’d searched. No luck had followed them ever since...

“We should have never left the group...what better luck out here, alone with those...things.” the man said, glaring at the wetness of the ground.

The female arose from assuring the daughter, running a hand through her own hair. “That man was going to lead our group to ruins. Lead us all to ruin. We cannot over-think the decision we made. It was for the best. We’re definitely better out here than with them.”

A brief quiet between the two adults left room for another low roll of thunder to speak clearly without interruption. A face rub and a long, exaggerated sigh was what she got back. “You’re right. I’m sorry honey...I’m sorry.”

The man glanced down at his youngest. His only child.

“Hey, sunshine.”

Approaching and kneeling down to his child’s height, he gently placed his hands over her smaller ones. Gazing into her eyes with the love of a guardian, he smiled widely. “I know things are scary. And I’ve never been good enough at assurances...mommy would tell ya, ha...but two things are for sure in this crazy world we now live in. None of this is on you, and we’ll protect you with everything inside of us to keep you safe, okay? You’re gonna be just fine without the burrow. We’re gonna be just fine.”

Her parents couldn’t tell, but their child’s eyes had already started to water up, her now conflicted emotions concealed by the rain that began to slightly increase in intensity. But she feigned a smile regardless. She had nothing to fear, right? Mommy and daddy were here.

The child’s mom joined a kneeling position down next to her husband and hugged her child, failing to subdue streams of tears from falling, despite best efforts. 

“Jolene,” the child’s mom tearfully called to her child. A hand rested with a playful thud on top of the kid’s head. “We love you. And we’re going to get somewhere safer.”

The mother got back to her feet as her lover joined her. “This rain isn’t helping. Let’s ge-”

  
**“ALRIGHTY NOW!** Come on out, I know we heard ya!”

The pair of parents immediately ducked down with their child behind the van they had last searched, a sharp chill of panic washing over them as they held Jolene close. The call had definitely come from their north, but they had no idea where exactly. The dad’s hands began immediately trembling.

“Just shut up, Jason! Shut up! Before you bring any other unwanted attention!” one of the unknown assailants whispered harshly. “I already saved your ass from those damn disco bees because of unnecessary shit like this and I won’t do it again!”

Ignoring his two companions, the third one took a few steps towards the group of abandoned vehicles and reached towards his waist. Something black and and compact was lifted up into the air, it’s presence something to be feared by anyone with enough knowledge. Something more of absurd rarity in current times. A gun.

“Now, let’s just make this nice and quick. I know you’re behind one of these cars. So you can either come out now and ease your troubles, or we’ll come over ourselves and just end whoever’s there...and we’ll make it slow.”

“How do you even know if they’re human?” one of the assailants remarked with gritted teeth. “Are you really gonna risk this one?”

“I saw their heads before they ducked back down. They ain’t no Mutes.”

The father closed his eyes tight and pounded the ground with a fist. No time to wait. No time to find other solutions. With a swift turn, he faced his wife and daughter.

“Donna, I need you to trust me, alright? I need you to take Jolene and hide here behind the car. Run into the forest when their not looking.”

His wife’s eyes grew as wide as they possibly could, immediately following with a sharp head shake. “No, no, no, no, not like this, honey not-”

“Do this for Jolene.”

“...I-”

“Honey, I love you.”

The wife began to sob along with Jolene, trying to stifle herself, but current tensions made it hard to suppress. “l-love you too.”

The husband then eyed Jolene with the softest gaze he could muster. “Daddy’s gonna play hero, okay, Jolene? No matter what happens, I’m never gone. I’m always right here,” her father placed a balled fist against his chest, by his heart. ”Stay strong, no matter what. It get’s hard but-”

“I’m gonna count to three, and that’s it! If you don’t come out, I’ll make you wish you did. I swear on my grave.”

The haunting words etched themselves into the father’s mind, and then into his heart.

“Donna,” Jolene’s father whispered shakily to his wife as he took a quick glance under the van to find the assailants getting closer. “Do this for her...keep behind the car, and I’ll get their eyes away from here. Take her and run that way,” he said with bated breath as he pointed towards the east of the forest from their position.

“Just do this for her,” Jolene’s father repeated as he got up and raised his hands in the air, revealing his position to their instigators. He walked slowly from behind the van, never taking his eyes off of the firearm one of them brandished.

_'How the hell did he get one of those? Couldn’t be...'_

“Stop! You got me, okay?” the husband inched himself away from the van and away from his family, trying to get as much space from them as possible.

A hardy chuckle emitted from the gun-brandishing human. “Well, took ya long enough, don’t you think? I was thinking I was gonna have to waste some of the only precious bullets we have! Come over here, now.”

  
The father slowly walked forwards, moving slightly to the left as he approached to get their eyes way from where he once was. “What do you want with me? I don’t have anything of value. Been searching through these cars and all I found worth while was some stupid pens, ha.” the father lied with a faked chuckle...well, white lie. They really didn’t find much of anything worthy at all.

“Maybe, we’re writers? I think they’re pretty note worthy.”

“Ah-ha, I get it! That was pretty go-”

“Shut up.”

“Alright, damn.”

The father was internally losing his patience. _'Maybe I could get the gun. Maybe. Maybe if he gets close enough. Maybe not...maybe-'_

“Look, here. I know there’s someone else behind that van right there.”

The words nearly stopped the father’s heart.

“What? No, it’s just me. See I came through not long ago and-”

The thug slowly walked up to the father and stopped within a foot. He easily towered over Jolene’s father by some inches.

“I’m going to shoot you right here and now and leave you for those damn forest dwellers if that other one doesn’t come out. She won’t fare any better. And no counting this time.”

  
“Look, man...I’m telling you...” Jolene’s father cursed himself harshly for pausing. “There’s no one behind the... **run! Run now! _Go!_** "

Jolene’s father commanded this as loud as he could, pushing himself forward towards the gun the man had gripped, trying to restrain the arm that held it. The other two offenders quickly came to his help one with one of them delivering a solid punch to the father’s gut.

The wife took the chance and took off with Jolene in her arms, nearly stumbling off her balance as she did.

Just as it happened.

Just as thunder crackled throughout the night sky.

Just as the round went off.

The sound paused the wife mid-run. She instinctively turned back and held her daughter even tighter.

“Duncan!” the wife screeched, her eyes now laid upon the twitching form of her husband, the assailant’s attention now on her. She turned to run again, nearing the forest with every step.

“Knew I was right.” the gun wielding bandit muttered to himself as he took aim. Three shots rang out.

Jolene's mother felt a hot, searing pain in her thigh and abdomen. She soon found herself tumbling forward and on top of her child, vision quickly hazing. Her mind blanked out and failed to fully move an arm, leg, anything on command. But she found that she could still speak.

“Jolene...” the mother managed to get out. “Go...run away. Run...”

The small child couldn’t form any words. Only a dry throat.

“We love...you...”

Jolene couldn’t speak. She tried, but she just couldn’t bring forth anything. Her mind was overwhelmed and refused to believe any of it was real.

“Should’ve just come out, lady! Maybe things could’ve been different....maybe!” the voice echoed.

“We need to get out of here now. Screw the cars, those Mutes are going to flock here any second!”

Finally wiggling herself from under the heavy weight of her mother, Jolene found her unresponsive.   
“Mom? M-mom, please...mom!”

  
The murder turned from his partners and back to the wife, widening his eyes.  
“What...that’s a kid?”

Jolene looked up at the murderer of her mother, then back to her corpse. 

_"No matter what happens, I’m never gone. I’m always right here. Stay strong, no matter what...”_

Eyes filled with anguish and warm tears, Jolene picked herself up and swiftly dashed for the forest. One of the assailants caught her form moving quickly towards escape and began to run after her.

“Let her go! She isn't worth it.” the man yelled at his partner, his words bringing him to a stop and quickly glancing back and fourth between him and the forest in which the young girl fled.

Jolene was now completely submerged in the darkness of the forest, out of range and out of sight.

“You’re an idiot, Mark.”

“I’m also the one with the gun.”

“Exactly!”

“Besides,” the man re-holstered the pistol, ignoring the remark. “...if we don’t get to her...the forest surely will. I think the forest is a lot more suited. Let’s get out of here. We’ll come back to the cars ourselves when things calm down here.”

* * *

Jolene ran and ran.

She didn’t know what else to do. It was all she thought she could do.

With no idea if the murderers of her parents where after her, she kept her small legs in motion, muddy footprints continuously left in her wake. She tried to stay forward on a path of sorts, but the forest wasn’t a trail and every moment or so, trees and bushes would throw her aimlessly in a whole new direction. The darkness didn’t help. _‘As long as I’m going away...as long as I’m going forward...’_ she thought through the panic that was still swarming amongst her mind.

  
_‘Gotta keep going for mom and dad gotta-’_

One foot landing in the wrong place at the wrong time was all it took for her to slip against the loose dirt weakened by the rain. Her momentum launched her forward as she instinctively brung her arms in front of her to ease the coming impact. She hit the ground with a skid, the grassy terrain luckily taking most of the stun away from what could have been a rougher landing. Even though she had finally been forced to stop running for the moment, Jolene’s rapid heart rate persisted. Her first immediate thought as she sat herself upright was to continue running, but she really hadn’t noticed just how tired she really was until now, the buzz of adrenaline stimulated from earlier now wearing itself thin.

It was only in this unexpected calm that everything came crashing down on top of her. Whatever community she had was gone. Her parents were gone. And she was all alone by herself in a world she hardly even knew, nor understood. And with the Mutes. That’s what her parents referred to them as. The creatures that she’d never seen first-handed. Only from afar. Her parents always kept her safe from having to deal with them.

Until now.

In the whirlpool of this hard realization once again, she began to cry. The tears flowed unrestrained and unfettered down her cheeks as she held her head in her hands, letting all of what happened overflow with nothing censored. No parents to assure her otherwise. Crackles of thunder from the coming storm accompanied her mental agony.

It was at this time that the rain began to die down back into a simple drizzle for the moment. Jolene began clearing away the excess of water from her face as the tears slowly faded, her vision slowly coming back to her control. And-

  
**“Grrrrrrrr....”**

Jolene froze in place.

She stood still, a deer-in-the-headlights with no light in sight. Any reliable form of illumination came from the streaks of lighting from a storm that had grown closer. She then began slowly scanning her head from left to right. Her breathing halted and she held her breath. She knew she heard it. She just didn’t know what it was....or where it came from. But it wasn’t the trees. And it wasn’t the thunder.

She scanned again, slowly and cautiously getting to her feet. Right to left. Left to right. She backed up just a little. Right to-

There it was. 

Something.

Something in the bushes in front of her. 

_Did you see it?_

Jolene did.

Something purple that illuminated through the thicket. And it moved, but just slightly.

Jolene didn’t wait. She turned to run again. Dashing as fast as she possibly could, she put as much power into every propel her legs gave. Dodging the many trees and vines that threatened to slow her down in the seemingly never-ending darkness, something scraped against her cheek, leaving a burning, tingly sensation. She managed her sprint well, but she still heard it behind her. Whatever it was. And it was getting closer.

Jolene’s breathing soon became labored once again and her legs were fairing just about the same. She swore she could hear more of them. She didn’t dare turn around. But she was so tired...she couldn’t keep going...

A quick succession of thumps sounded behind her and before she even realized what happened, she collided forward onto the forest floor, a heavy weight pressed against her. She mustered whatever strength was left in her to get whatever terror was on top of her off, but all she could manage was to twist around and face her attacker.

_'No...'_

* * *

_“Listen...you hear that?” Jolene’s father noted as he paused and looked at his daughter._

_Jolene looked around and then trailed back to her father’s unfaltering stare. His smile grew._

_“Just listen carefully. Hold your breath a bit if you have to.”_

_Jolene held her breath a bit more tense than she had to, but began concentrating nonetheless. It was rather faint, but Jolene finally caught it just as her father approached and leaned down to her size._

_“Those are the howls of the Mute Wolves. Our biggest goal is staying out of their territory range. They’re already dangerous enough, but entering their territory is a trip down a whole other level of danger.” he explained, getting just a bit more serious in his tone._

_“Don’t be scared, though. We’re right here and we’ll keep you safe. But things can happen. And this is very vital for you to know...”_

_Jolene leaned in closer in anticipation to her father’s closing words._

_“Whatever you do, even when it’s hard...if you ever find yourself in a position where your unable to escape while in contact with these Mutes, show no fear to them. Stand your ground as best as you can.”_

* * *

She was staring straight into the eyes of a Mute Wolf.

The neon purple eyes merely glared back. The area was tense with similar glares. She just couldn’t see them yet. Her mind wanted her to scream, but her voice had failed her once more. One by one, more revealed themselves. They were all, to her surprise, rather young looking, all appearing about her same height.

“Very good, little Josef. Now, please release her.”

The voice came through very calm and silky, the owner stepping from behind a larger tree from further away alongside another slightly taller wolf. They were both the tallest of all the rest, clearly the alphas of the group. The more feminine of the two donned a pink light jacket, a black professional dress underneath topped off with a pink pearl necklace to complement her attire.

The more masculine-looking wolf wore a similar getup; a pink long-sleeved shirt with a bow-tie to top it off. An ascot scarf of a darker shade of the same color was tied around his neck, draping evenly over both of his shoulders.

  
It was only then that the human child fully realized the younger wolves were all sporting the same proper clothing, much akin to a boarding school. They approached slowly as the younger wolf that pinned Jolene retreated to the ring of wolves that now surrounded her. What seemed to be the female of the two adults moved forward closer to a now cowering Jolene, kneeling down in front of her as she silently trembled. 

“Forgive my youngest child’s actions. He was rather...ecstatic to see who it was thrashing nosily through our forest. And who might you be?” the older wolf Mute asked, a tense look widening into a smile and unintentionally showing off a few of the numerous piercingly-sharp teeth inside.

What was she to say, what was she to say?

Give them her name? Then they would know. Then if she escaped, they could ask around. But then it hit her. She _wasn’t_ going to escape. This was _it_. Whatever fate that lay in wait and want was dependent on how she responded, and running was long out of the question. So she did the easy thing. She gave them her name.

“J-Jolene...my name is...”

“Jolene...” The adult wolf duplicated, raising her head and tilting her vision slightly above the human youth’s head, as if taking in the name like a fine wine. “Oh, darling. What a beautiful name that is. My name is Cecilia, and this is my husband, Alphonso.” the wolf waved an arm towards the taller wolf now standing behind her. 

The father wolf didn’t move and his stoic expression remained the same.

“Hello.”

“Now, there is no reason to be afraid of us...Jolene. We were on a walk and were merely curious as to who was coming toward our home so fast. We heard the ruckus earlier and thought maybe it could be danger...but it has become clear that you are no danger...am I correct?”

Jolene immediately shook her head. “I-I don’t want to hurt any of you, as long as you aren’t going to hurt me.”

The words came out half-choked on fear, but she was gaining just a bit her calmness back, surprisingly, despite current events. Or maybe she was just that tired?

“Well then...” the adult wolf adjusted her pearl necklace slightly and looked back at Jolene, an expression more somber and serious. “If I have your trust, then perhaps I can safely inform you that I have committed a lie on my behalf.”

The small human blinked though tears in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Giving out a small sigh, she got just a tad closer. “We heard the ruckus in the forest clearing, yes...but we also witnessed what happened. We saw your caretakers die.”

The words she spoke came by like a train. Jolene’s mother and father flashed into her mind again as lighting struck a tree uncomfortably close them, rattling the younger wolves.

“M-mom, dad? Can we go? The storm...I‘m scared!” one of the younger wolves admitted desperately, fur standing on end. The other siblings agreed and chattered amongst themselves as the father calmed them.

The wolf mother continued. “Jolene...we can accommodate you; give you a place to live. I know you have no one else, but we can help you survive. And I know that trusting Mutes like us is not what you’ve been taught to do. However, you must trust us if you want a chance for a better future, and then you must be tested. And it won’t be easy.”

Jolene felt more tears building up, ready to fall. She didn’t know these creatures. Father and mother warned her not to get too close to any of them, promising to protect her from danger...but they were gone now. And she couldn’t act strong in the face of them like her father told her. So what else did she have?

Nothing...

 _‘Nothing but them...’_ the human child thought to herself.

“I-I...I-”

The wolf now known as Cecilia leaned in closer than ever before, slowly wrapping her arms around Jolene and pulling her close. She squirmed at the surprise embrace, but a strange feeling of safety washed over her.

“You don’t have to be afraid, Jolene. You’re all alone. Unless you choose _not_ to be.”

The words were whispered into her ears and for just a moment, everything felt normal. She felt like she had a chance. And so, looking up at the wolf, Jolene gave an answer so quiet, that only Cecilia could hear.

  
“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Fun Fact: 
> 
> The story title was named after the hit SIAMES song of the same name.


	2. Proof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolene finds refuge in a new home, but the doubts still linger.

Jolene knew where she was heading, but she couldn’t quite _see_ where she was _going_.

That’s why the Mute Wolves lead the way for her. Alpha female in front, alpha male in the rear, and wolf siblings on the sides. The storm had been a rather swift one too The rain and rumbles of thunder were now distant and out of mind. But the many troubles on the misplaced little human mind were far from distant. They were constant. And even after being offered solitude, Jolene could only apprehensively ponder what would happen next. What would _really_ happen next. Not what the wolf mother...Cecilia? Yes, Cecilia. That was her name. Not what she said.

_'What about what my real parent’s said?'_

_'But..not...not all Mutes have to be bad...right?'_

_'Right, dad? You never told me that...would you have if you even had the chance?'_

“Chin up, little Jolene. We’re here.”

Jolene looked up to Cecilia, almost immediately before setting eyes up to the large building just beyond the remaining thickets and branches of the forest that seemed to finally end. Jolene’s eyes lit up at the tall house that introduced itself to her. It was as close to a mansion as you could get without actually being one; painted a now slightly faded white, blue and magenta. A few overgrown branches protruded in and out of some of it’s windows.

“I see your intrigued. Yes, it is a fine place to have settled down in. My husband and I claimed it some years ago...we’ve been pleased with it ever since.” Cecilia commentated as her children dashed forward in a swift bid for the stairs after their father.

“Last one inside’s a rotten corpse!” one of the wolf pups called out.

One younger wolf leaped over another and left them falling stomach first onto the grass.

“Hey, that’s definitely cheating! No fair!”

As the few remaining wolves retreated through the door, the last one peaked back at the human from inside, looking on for only a moment before ducking back inside and out of sight.

Cecilia visibly knitted brows at the lively commotion that now threatened to knock over yet another vase.

“Children! Please, no running in the house!”

Ultimately unheard, Cecilia sighed, the mother turning to Jolene.

“Please forgive them, I’m sure you understand. Their all very much tired from the forest and I’m sure they’ll want to get to know you personally soon. As a matter of fact...”

Cecilia maneuvered around the human and placed her hands on her shoulders, inching her forward gently.

  
“We’ll get you properly cleaned up and have a quick tour of your new abode. After all you’ve been through, I’m sure you’ve well earned some rest by now.”

Jolene blinked, still dazed by the quick turn of events that all transpired within such a short amount of time.

“O-okay...Ms. Cecilia.”

The mother wolf began walking her forward.

~~_I can still run...right?_ ~~

Alphonso, the father wolf, waited statically at the front door.

~~_Maybe this is a bad idea. I don’t have to..._ ~~

Only a couple dozen feet from the house.

_No. I can’t. There’s nothing left._

Just a few feet. Alphonso held open the door for them.

_No turning back._

The first step.

The second step.

  
“What’s wrong, Jolene?”

The human looked forward, past the father wolf and into the home. The unknown.

“Don’t worry...I understand. You’re still hesitant. Well, I’m not comfortable with being liable to leaving a defenseless young out there on her own...”

Cecilia took one of the young human's hand in her own. “If you still trust me as you once said, maybe we can do this together?”

Still on the second step.

  
Third step.

And the door that led to the dreaded unknown?

She walked through it.

* * *

Jolene found herself sitting around a rectangular dinner table. After being cleaned up, having the earlier cut to her cheek patched up and shown around the house, including the room she would be sharing her rest in, Cecilia had called everyone together for the evening dinner of the night. Jolene, still at unease, gripped the edge of the wooden chair she resided in. Taking every chance she could to not draw attention to herself amongst the wolves, her eyes remained fixed on the reflection of her face through the clear glass in front of her. Although the reflection became nearly impossible to observe after a pitcher had poured inside it a dark blue liquid beverage, taking Jolene out of her fixation. Startled her a bit, too.

“I see you’re a bit lost in thought. It’s not something I can blame you for.” Cecilia finished pouring the drink, hovering the pitcher over to the next cup in waiting. “It’s blueberry iced tea. I promise you, it’s quite a delight.” she finished as she began pouring the next glass, her young percipient licking it’s lips in anticipation.

Jolene smiled weakly at the mother and quickly shifted her vision back to the glass. At least now she could stare at it and not worry about looking through it at anyone, the dark color of the drink covering visibility and making seeing through the glass clearly impossible. But a strange feeling soon made her body tense. She could feel it all around her. She couldn’t bring her eyes way from the glass. She wouldn’t. It was all too much. Everything that happened hours before kept repeating in her mind, tearing down the walls of assurance that the wolf mother had built for her in such a short period of time.

She couldn’t.

She wouldn’t. 

  
She...looked up and found the origin of her fretful feelings.

They were all staring at her.

A barrage of magenta-colored eyes dawned upon her, all filled with different sets of emotions she couldn’t quite pinpoint...all but one. That of curiosity. Luckily for her, the mother was happily obliged with breaking the silence.

“Children, it is of great pleasure to announce that there is a newest addition to the household. Please everyone, me and your father would like to properly introduce Jolene.” Cecilia stated, waving a hand towards the child as the human chuckled nervously.

One of the wolf children spoke without leaving eye contact with the new guest. “But ma, she’s a human! Why aren’t we-”

A expressionless glare was directed towards the child by the mother and father, but the child knew it all too well.

“Sorry...my name’s...Sebastian.” said, visibly sulking.

Another wolf, shorter than the previous, pipped up behind him.

"Josef..."

“And I’m Rupert!”

“I’m Jack.” greeted the tallest of the bunch. This one, being seated next to Jolene, held out of paw in her direction.

At first she hesitated, but found herself repeating the action, weakly gripping and shaking Jack’s furry hand. “Nice to...meet you, Jack.” Jolene replied...but only then did she fully noticed the exaggerated grin and narrowed eyes he gave her. The paw squeezed Jolene’s hand a bit tighter before letting go.

The last child of Cecilia’s sat to Jolene’s other side and had refused to take her eyes off of the bread roll that lay stagnant on her plate. It was only when it became apparent she was next did she drag her eyes towards Jolene.

“Um...my name is Margot.”

Cecilia clasped her hands together. “Perfect. Now, before we begin our late feast, it is imperative for our newcomer Jolene to know that there are certain...precautions to be taken in an assurance of her accommodation being worthwhile.” 

_'Worthwhile?'_ Jolene thought worriedly.

Cecilia’s smile faltered, a look of grave seriousness sneaking onto her face.

The father closed his eyes, placing his fork down. “You must be tested. As Cecilia stated in the forest. Your physical prowess must be as strong as your desire to survive. And live. We will benchmark you on your efforts, and ultimately determine your place among the pack.”

Jolene was puzzled. This is what the mother meant? What where they going to test her with? Through her anxiety, she couldn’t help but ask.

“I don’t understand...I-I thought-”

“What,” Jack cut in. “That you were just gonna come and not earn you way here?”

The parent’s both eyed their outspoken child with a disciplinary glare.

After Jack lowered his head in fear, Alphonso cleared his throat and looked upon the human. “Me and my wife saved you from your circumstances, yes. But you must also learn to pull your own weight. If you cannot sustain yourself, then the rest of the pack can falter. Our children are all going through similar trials as well.” the father finished, taking a quick sip of the blueberry tea.

“Right...okay. I’ll...I’ll do them.”

“Excellent, Jolene. First thing tomorrow morning is when we’ll start our first exercise. Try your best and you’ll be just fine.” Cecilia encouraged, lifting up her blueberry drink. “For now, let’s all enjoy a nice dinner and get some rest.”

* * *

The wolf children brushed past Jolene as they all made way to their rooms for rest. All but Margot, who simply gave her a quick glance before walking quickly to her room. The room she was told she’d be staying in along with Jack.

Walking through the door was like walking into uncharted territory of it’s own, separated from the house itself. The room was relatively average: a dressing drawer on each side which sheltered personal belongings on top, pillows and covers folded neatly on the ground and a couple of things hung on the walls.

However, it wasn’t all these things that made her feel this way. It was the fact that she was now more or less confined within a small space with creatures she barely knew. And the fact that this...Jack was staring at her with such intensity didn’t help current matters much.

“I could just stand there all night, too.” he said in a snarky voice, plopping down on the other side of the room and turning away from her.

Margot gave him a stink eye that he would never get to see. “That’s not nice.”

Jack squirmed around to find the perfect sleeping position. “Whatever.”

Sighing, Margot pointed to the other side of the room to a sleeping spot.

“You can take mine. Away from ‘Mr. Grumpy’ over there.”

Jolene smiled as she timidly made her way to the makeshift bed, and sat down.

“Thanks.” 

Margot smiled, but quickly retreated to the remaining one, pulling the bed sheets over herself and shutting her eyes. 

Jolene felt the friendly intent of the wolf slowly fade away as she laid down, resting her head on the soft pillow and turned towards the wall that resided next to her. It was only then did she feel something press against her upper leg. She jerked slightly, before feeling inside of her pocket to find something hard. Something round.

Finally gripping the small object, she held it in front of her.

The moon’s light glinted through the window that resided in the middle of the room and reflected off it’s purple-bluish color.

**It was a marble.**

Jolene’s eyes widened. She had forgotten about this.

_“Hey, Jolene, come over here. I found something you might like.”_

_Jolene turned from her mother and stepped over to her father, curious to what might peak her interests. As she approached, her father brung his arms from around his back and held out a closed hand, opening it when she got close enough. It was small, round marble._

_“It’s another one. I’m sure you’d love to add it to your collection.”_

Jolene’s eyes began watering up, but she continued staring at the marble. The marble was more than just a parent’s gift. 

It was **proof**.

 **Proof** that they were never really gone.

It **_had_ **to be.

“It has to be...” Jolene tearfully whispered to herself as she buried her face into the plush pillow before eventually dosing off.

The door to the room that housed Jolene very quietly creaked open just a bit. Older magenta-colored eyes peered through and scanned the room, eventually resting upon the small form of the sleeping human.

Those eyes continued to glare intensely at the small human’s now stirring body before withdrawing and shutting the door silently. And everything was left as if nothing ever happened. 


	3. Can't Look Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolene's trust is tested.

_“Hey.”_

_“Hey, kid.”_

_“Look behind you.”_

  
Jolene stood in the darkness, all by herself.

_**And the voice.** _

The voice from the man that she couldn’t see.

  
_“Just look behind you.”_

Her head ached as she tried moving her neck to face the speaker, but to no avail. She tried and tried, but nothing came of her efforts. Stuck in place like a statue.

_“Damn it, kid. If you don’t turn around...I swear....”_

No matter how hard Jolene tried...

_“...I’ll **kill** you.”_

She couldn’t move.

Her arms, feet, legs, hands, even her eyes, were all frozen in time. In the darkness. 

With the voice.

  
_“This must’ve been how it felt, huh?”_ the deep voice bellowed.

_“How it felt to be so useless.”_

  
Jolene’s tears even failed to fall.

_“To be so utterly worthless. Ha, I’ll tell ya this: ya better get used to it. Cause that won’t change.”_

Fear abruptly changed into anger as it suddenly overtook Jolene, her form finally free from restraint, all her attempts at trying to move mixed with the sudden freedom causing her to quickly spin towards the nearing voice.

All that she got to register was that it was a fully grown human.

**_BANG!_ **

**_BANG!_ **

* * *

Jolene jerked her head off of the pillow and let out a loud gasp, eyes wide and hyperventilating. She looked around the now brightly lit room to find the wolf children that once occupied it were no longer present.

She was finally awake.

Her reality having finally caught up to her, she eased her shaky breath, and slowly laid her head back on the pillow, staring up at the white ceiling. She wanted to get lost in the blankness of that ceiling. It’s all she wanted. Just for a few more minutes. It was the only thing she could think of to get rid of the visions from last night’s dream. No, _nightmare_. That was a **_nightmare_**. She had to stop thinking about it. About what she saw. About what it meant. What it represented. What it...

“Stop.” Jolene whispered harshly to herself. 

“Stop, stop, stop, stop...”

  
The door to her room slowly creaked open, causing Jolene to shut her eyes and put on the act of sleeping. She wasn’t ready to go out to face them yet. But she still wanted to know. So she very, very slightly pried her eyes open.

It was the mother. Cecilia. She was staring straight at her. The wolf’s eyes seemed to bore straight into hers, despite Jolene’s best efforts to put on an act. 

_‘No. No, she couldn’t know. I’m just being....she’ll go away.’_ Jolene thought to herself as she closed her eyes completely, leaving her back in the dark once more.

She started counting. Once she reached ten, she’d open her eyes again. Then maybe she’d be gone.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

_Four._

_Five._

_Six._

_Seven._

_Eight._

_Nin_ e.

....

......

.......

_Ten_.

Jolene peaked her eyes open again just enough to keep herself undercover.

She was _still_ there.

**Watching.**

But to Jolene’s luck, it was also when she slowly retreated back to the other side of the door and closed it...slowly. The human let out a mental breath of relief for the second time already in the day and it wasn’t even close to...

_‘Hey, how late in the morning is it anyways?’_

The thought tempted her to take a look out of the window next to her so she could properly observe her surroundings in the light. Something that was almost impossible for her to do in the dark of the night. But she made herself wait just a bit longer just in case someone barged into the room right after she had just put on her best “I’m sleeping, do you mind” impression.

So she continued her gaze at the ceiling again.

“I miss you mom and dad. I-”

_'No. They’re still here.'_

Jolene reached into her pocket and briefly searched around until her fingers were met with the small sphere that resided in it. She brought the sphere up to her face and observed it again, this time with more clarity. The sun was in full bloom today, and the marble’s swirling colors came through beautifully. No. This all has to be a dream. They....they can’t really be...

**_*Knock knock knock*_ **

The young human spun towards the door in a heartbeat, her pulse racing in surprise as a voice slightly muffled through.

“Jolene dear, breakfast is nearly ready. Do you mind coming down to join us? I do hope your awake.”

It was Cecilia again. Jolene hesitated, but brung herself to answer.

“Y-yes, I’ll be right down.”

“Splendid. No rush, now. Take your time.”

Jolene released the breath of tension she had built up as she heard the wolf mother’s steps grow further and further away. She would have to face them eventually...but for now, Jolene settled for a quick look through the window. She pulled the blind cord and the outside world was fully revealed to her. Mostly sunny skies was the current tone of the day, silky white clouds slowly traversing the air in small groups. There were tall trees that covered from left to right, going as far out as she could see..but from the center, the trees weren’t so far out; a few tall, overgrown and colorful flowers poking about and towering the perennial plants by half their tallest size.

Taking in the wondrous sight, her mind drifted back towards the situation at hand. She turned, facing the door and slowly walked up to it. Now in front of it, she reached for the handle, only to stop the action abruptly. She stood paused in that position, unsure and afraid of what could come next. Like a statue. Like in the nightmare.

_‘No...I don’t have a choice...’_

Well, technically she did. 

Just for a second, she pondered the possibility of making it out the two story window.  
 _‘And maybe break a leg and an arm in the process...’_

Jolene chuckled to herself at the absurd notion of being that desperate to escape. These were undoubtedly hard times, especially for her, but she still hadn’t had much proof of any malice the wolves had towards her. Well, any serious malice. Cecilia and Alphonso had taken her in, despite her being human. That had to count for something. And that one wolf...Margot had shown her kindness, regardless of how small it seemed....

Maybe things would be okay.

She found her hand tightening around the doorknob before she even registered the action, and with the momentum already built, she twisted it fully and pulled the door open.

* * *

Nails scraped against the railing leading down to the first floor, though her hands eventually settled for gripping it. Every step Jolene took down felt heavier than the last, as if she was drawing out the time it took to get to the kitchen. Okay, she was. But she’d be there soon enough, so she forced herself to get it over with, moving down to the last few steps and turning the corner. Alphonso was the first to notice her as she timidly made her way to the table.

“Heh, good morning, Mr. Alphonso...” Jolene greeted, her attempt at hiding her nervousness rather poor.

The father wolf looked back from his plate with a monotonous expression.

“Good morning.” 

“....”

“Is that Jolene that I hear? Everything is just about set. Just a few more minutes.” Cecilia stated, her form hidden around the corner.

Jolene found herself stuck, not sure what to say or do next. She gazed at the plates that lay on the kitchen table and found that three pancakes laid neatly on every one. Which seat was she to take? Was there a particular order? Where were the wolf children at now? Would any of them get angry if I took their seat and-

“Any chair will do. We’ll begin breakfast very shortly.” Alphonso said simply, as if reading her mind. Or maybe the fact that she was just standing there. Yeah, that was probably it.

So that’s what she did. She took the chair that was farthest away from Alphonso, directly on the other side of the table. It was a rather large one too. It was shaped like a rectangle, so there was plenty of space, even with the wolf children present. And speaking of wolf children...

“...back a couple of years ago! You don’t remember?” a voice, revealed to be Sebastian, said as he walked out from another room.

“Yeah, that didn’t happen. And even if it did-”

Jack paused as he laid eyes on Jolene. A frown was quickly replaced for a mischievous smile. He continued to walk past the human to an empty chair right beside her as the rest of the wolves made their way to the others, all visibly excited to finally munch down on breakfast.

“So...” Jack began. “...ready for your first test today?” 

That smile gave Jolene an uneasiness that she couldn’t quite place. And it never left as she answered.

“Well...still not sure. I’m mean, I don’t even know what it is...” Jolene admitted, letting out a forced laugh.

Jack leaned in closer.

“You’ll see.”

Jack leaned back and faced his plate of pancakes, poking it slowly with his metal fork. Still smiling. Just as Cecelia joined everyone at the table. She sat down next to her husband and bowed her head, closing her eyes. Silence filled the room and everyone, save for Jolene, repeated the action. However, a rather rough elbow from Jack was enough for her to send a small glare his way and follow after everyone else.

“Now, we may eat. Hope you all enjoy.” Cecilia said as she picked up her utensils and started neatly dissecting the pancakes into neat pieces. Everyone else quickly followed suit, but the kids were especially impatient and chose to skip the knifes and jumped straight to the good stuff.

However, Jolene found herself following the parent’s lead. Margot, who wasn’t far away, noticed her rather refined approach.

“Good to see I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to choke on breakfast, hehe!”

“Hey, you hused to ho the hame hing!” Rupert recalled in retaliation, bumbling through his half-finished pancake.

Margot smirked. “Well, at least I learned better.”

This earned a chuckle from Josef and Jack, causing Rupert to mumble in irritation as he was left to himself to finish his food.

“Enough, children. Please refrain from ‘choking on breakfast’ and be careful of how you swallow. Proper etiquette is especially vital to your health.” Cecilia coached, setting down a fork on her plate before clasping her hands together.

“Now, I’m sure all of you are aware of Jolene and her first test amongst the pack that will take place shortly today.” Cecilia added, eying the human specifically. “You all need to be in proper shape, so do be sure to stretch before we head out.”

Jolene, still on the fence on the matter, had to get something out of this “mystery test” she kept being sold.

“So...what’s it all about?”

Cecilia and Alphonso looked at each other briefly before returning their looks back toward her.

“It’s not to be discussed until we begin. We need your instincts in tune for this particular trial. We simply need to evaluate something before we continue further. That’s all.” Alphonso assured, finishing the rest of his plate.

“Hmm...okay.”

She still didn’t quite understand, but at this point, she just wanted to get it over with.

_‘Maybe it was something like the pacer tests my mom and dad used to do back in the burrow...’_

* * *

Outside was still just as beautiful as she’d seen it through the blinds. The birds weren’t chirping by, as they were too busy being Mutes, so that was a bummer...but the clear skies and wide field made up for that in spades. Jolene followed the Alpha parents down the front steps as Jack, Rupert and Josef ran passed them, tackling each other to the grown down below against the grass. Margot simply followed behind her parents. Jolene looked to her, hoping for some snippy remark to make her laugh, but she was instead met with a face of nervousness and avoidance. The young wolf looked down as she moved forward, making sure her eye contact never met the human.

The expression left Jolene with a small pang of worry, but she rather quickly brushed it off. It’s only been a day, after all. It’s not like Margot is her super-best friend...

They all eventually made it to the edge of a small cliff that led to the large field next to the wide-spread forest. Cecilia took Jolene’s hand and led her near the edge. The human gave her a concerned look, but the mother simply smiled back.

“This is your very first test.” Cecilia told her, patting her head softly. The pupils in her eyes suddenly grew thinner.

“Run.”

  
Jolene blinked at the word. “Run? W-why-”

Numerous growls were heard from behind her. She turned quickly around to find that Cecilia’s children were slowly stalking towards her in a predatory fashion. Even Margot, though her growls were more subtle and her expression...a bit saddened?

“Margot, w-what’s going on?” Jolene pleaded towards the young pup, only to get silence.

“You heard her,” Jack said, baring his teeth wider. “Run.”

Jolene didn’t waste anymore time. 

She ran.

She quickly and awkwardly slid down the short hill, tripping over as she made it to the bottom. Despite this, she didn’t stop. Stumbling her way back to her feet, the small human bounded for the forest. The only other place to go. The sun’s rays beat against her back as she heard the growls quickly growing closer, but she didn’t look back. She heard the ravenous and rushed barking the children made as they neared her clumsy form, but she didn’t look back.

**_She couldn’t._ **

**_She wouldn’t._**

**_She-_ **

Jolene felt the world in front of her spin and spin before the weight that pushed against her back left her on the leafy ground, pinned against her chest. The tackle left her stunned briefly, her eyes opening in a rush of adrenaline that instinctively told her to punch whatever had offended against her...but her instincts failed her once she identified who had attacked her.

On top of her was Margot, upper lip is raised in an exaggerated snarl that gave no qualms about showing off the numerous sharp teeth that accompanied it.

She looked into Margot’s eyes and saw the regret. Jolene just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t hurt her. So she closed her eyes. This was finally it. No where to run, and nowhere to go. Betrayed by the very family she knew she shouldn’t have trusted. Her eyes remained shut, unable to comprehend the pain that would soon follow.

**_*LICK*_ **

  
Jolene felt the warm, wet....whatever it was trailing against her cheek before she opened her eyes in utter confusion, finding a smiling Margot staring back at her.

_Did Margot....just **lick** her?_

_What happened to the bared teeth?_

_Why is Jack, Rupert, Sebastian and Joseph **laughing**?_

_What’s going-_

  
“I am quite disappointed, Jolene!”

The voice’s echo trailed back to the mother on top of the cliff, arms crossed in disappointment. The father wolf’s attitude mirrored his wife’s.

“If you are to survive, you must be faster! Your disadvantage is in your lack of training, as we have exposed here today. That is why I brung you out this morning. This was your first test.”

Jolene re-ran what Cecilia said through her mind several times before she finally came to terms with the situation. She’d been duped. And all for a test? She could still hear the snickers from the children, save for Margot, who had saw the look of pure betrayal shown through her eyes before the reveal. True terror. She had already backed off of her, handing a paw out for her to grab.

“Jolene...I’m sorry. They told me not to te-”

Jolene leaped up and glared at the Alphas.

“You want a test? How’s this for a test!!” Jolene screamed as she turned and finished her dash into the forest.

Jack, Rupert, Sebastian and Josef saw it as a challenge and began to chase after her, but-

“No, children! Please, I’ll set after her. She’s...not running for the test.” Cecilia clarified as she carefully made her way down the side of the cliff.

“Cecilia...” Alphonso started, before his wife turned towards him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I won’t take long with her.”

* * *

  
The human stopped running and turned around a tree, resting exhaustively against it’s side and sliding down to the ground. Many thoughts were spiraling around in her noggin. And none of them involved setting foot back in that house with those wolves.

 _‘I’m done with all of this...’_ she thought as she store up at the stray beams of light that escaped through the tree leaves. _‘I’m tired of being lied to...’_

Getting to her feet, Jolene swung around and glared at the tree and clenched her fist.

_‘They coulda just told me!’_

Jolene rose her hand and hesitated to strike, but it did, connecting rather boldly with the dark-brown bark of the tall tree. The sting came, but Jolene didn’t care.

“Mom...dad...” she whispered weakly through the tears.

Closing her eyes, Jolene raised her other fist to strike again.

“Did you lie to me, too?”

The fist shook in anticipation to the coming pain, should she throw it...and she eventually did.

  
But something softer took hold of it before it struck. Jolene widened her teary eyes to find Cecilia looking back at her. She thought about running again, but the thought melted away.

"How did you-"

"Honey, were wolves. It what we do." Cecilia chuckled before her face became solemn.

“Jolene...I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. We shouldn’t have just thrown you into a challenge like that. I would like to take the full blame, however. I pushed for a more brash alternative to taking it fast, as opposed to my husband. He was the one who wanted to take it easier.” Cecilia admitted, letting go of her fist.

Jolene rubbed her knuckles as the pain turned into a dull soreness.

“I just...I...I want to be stronger, Ms. Cecilia. I do...but I thought you had all...abandoned me. And when you...it really hurt.”

  
Cecilia looked down upon her with an unreadable stare.

“Jolene, look at me.”

Jolene trailed her eyes back at the Alpha, finding her magenta eyes pushing through the sadness of her eyes.

“I needed you to understand something vital. Something that has not mercy to your feelings. I needed to remind you that the world isn’t kind. And it isn’t fair. The harsh reality is that any moment, we could all be dead. Just being out here could be the death of us. And unfortunately for someone so young, I know you know this all too well.”

The words hurt, but she did know what Cecilia meant. She had only a taste of what the world had to offer. But Cecilia offered something more.

“Join us once again, Jolene. And I promise you that we’ll make sure that the world becomes just a bit more bearable. We want you to grow and to be assured that you can fend for yourself...”

Cecilia brushed a hand across the little human's face, wiping away the excess tears. The human flinched, but let her continue. 

_‘I...I can’t just run away. I have nowhere to go. And maybe I did overact...’_

Jolene wrapped her arms around Cecilia’s waist and clenched her eyes shut.

  
“I’ll try. I’ll try harder. I’m sorry.”

The mother wolf gave out a soft laugh.

“You did nothing wrong. It’s what I would have done in your situation. Now darling, let your true testing begin this time.” Cecilia said, arising and holding a hand out to Jolene.

“But before we do, let’s get you properly dressed.”


	4. Facing It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolene confronts her fear of confrontation.

Jolene felt the world spin for the seventh time, landing roughly on her back. Dazed from the throw, she wobbly got back to her feet, a determined face etched across her face. She brushed the dirt off of her newly acquired uniform and looked up with a grin.

“A-again.”

“You sure?” Jack jested. “You could have just rode a carousel if you planned on getting so dizzy! Ha ha!”

“Again!”

Jack postured himself accordingly, ready to tussle.

“Your funeral.”

Jack launched himself at the Jolene and the human mirrored the effort. They collided and gripped each others hands, each fighting for dominance. Jolene felt herself moving backwards immediately and mentally conjured the image of the line drawn in the dirt not far from them.

_‘Can’t cross that line...’_

Cecilia and Alphonso looked on from nearby as their other children grappled along with them, the two Alpha’s gazes calculating their every move.

  
“Not sure if it’s worth all of the effort...”

“Let’s she how long she lasts before we ultimately decide what to do with her.”

Cecilia looked away from the youth and at her husband, eyes filled with agitation.  
“Were running out of food, Alphonso. It won’t be long before-”

“We’ll hunt for more elsewhere. This is an opportunity we may not get again. Need I remind you how rare it is to come across a hu-”

“Mr. Alphonso! Mrs. Cecilia! I did it!”

  
The wolf alphas snapped their heads back towards the voice to find Jolene restraining Jack from above. Alphonso gave his wife a knowing look before applauding her victory. “Nicely done, Jolene.”

“Get off me! It’s not like it didn’t take you forever or anything...” Jack spat as he got back to his feet.

“At least I’m getting there. Besides, this isn’t a competi-ooOOH OW!”

Jolene found herself on her back once more which made the total tally eight to one. She got up, rather irritated. 

“Hey, you can’t just sneak one in like that! I wasn’t even ready!” Jolene argued, butting heads with the wolf.

“Never let your guard down. Isn’t that an important part of survival? Maybe you should hone that part of your training more!” Jack shot back, pushing his skull against hers.

Rupert, Josef and Margot stopped their sparring to find the argument getting out of control. 

“It’s only been a week! Besides, we’re supposed to be sparring together! Why do you always have to treat me like I’m your enemy? I always had a feeling you didn’t like me!” Jolene countered, pushing Jack back even further.

“Maybe it’s because you don’t BELONG HERE!” Jack punctuated with a rough shove, causing the human to trip backwards onto the ground. Crossed the line, too.

Jolene looked up at Jack with an intense anger...but it was quickly replaced with a genuine look of confusion. She got up and looked into his eyes as she searched for an answer.

“What? What do...what do you mean by that?” Jolene asked him.

Jolene saw his eyes soften but it was an expression that didn’t last long.

“You belong out there. Not here.” Jack seethed, clenching and unclenching his paws.

“That’s enough, you too.” Alphonso interrupted authoritatively. “Jack...Jolene...separate yourselves. That is enough for all of you today.”

Jack gave Jolene a long look before turning to his parents, looks of disapproval and disappointment on their faces. This caused Jack to look back between Jolene, his siblings and his parents. He backed away from them, shaking his head.

“Mom, dad...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to...”

Before they could respond, the young wolf dashed for the front door of their home and closed it behind him. Jolene was left to stare at the empty space in which he once stood. The words replayed many times in her head and every attempt to shake them away had failed. She didn’t even seem to notice the alphas approach.

Cecilia crouched down to her level and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Now Jolene, I’m sure he didn’t-”

“I have to talk to him.” 

Jolene turned from the two and ran towards the house hastily, trying to catch up with him, but was stopped by Cecilia’s call.

“It’s okay, Jolene. I can talk to him.”

But instead of accepting the offer, Jolene smiled and continued up the steps.

  
“It’s only right if I do. I’ll be okay.”

* * *

Jolene slowly made her way up the stairs that led to the second floor. She felt she knew where he was and went straight for the door leading into the room which they shared. She store at it’s handle as she contemplated what he said again.

_‘What if Mrs. Cecilia was right? I may not be able to do this alone. Maybe she-’_

“No...” Jolene said to herself. “I need to do this...”

Jolene gripped the doorknob and after a small pause, twisted it open. The room inside was gradually revealed to her as the form of a wolf buried underneath his sheets shifted and then stood still.

“Go away, Jolene.”

The human chuckled lightly, stepping inside and closing the door behind her lightly.

“Ya got me.”

Jolene approached cautiously, choosing to kneel down beside the hidden Mute. She store at the unmoving shape underneath the covers and thought again...that maybe this still wasn’t her place. I mean, they were supposed to learn and grow together, yeah, but they only knew each for a-

“Jack...please. Let’s just talk about this. Jolene stated, forcing the words out. “We can’t hide from each other forever. It’s alright if you’re honest...I just want you to tell me what’s on your mind.” Jolene looked up as Jack’s form emerged from hiding under the sheets, now standing in full height.

“Just go, Jolene.” the wolf said in a monotonous tone, eyes narrowed and staring directly into hers.

“We can face this together. Jack, listen...things won’t get better if we-”

“You want to know what’s _wrong_!?” Jack shouted, baring his teeth.

Jolene didn’t have much time to react as Jack drove himself forward and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her off of her feet and shoving her against the wall. She kicked her legs instinctively as she panicked, but she abruptly stopped. She had her chance to hear, and so she listened.

“Ever since you moved in, Ma and Pa have done nothing with you! You’ve been here for a week, and-”

Jack stopped himself mid-sentence to stare emptily at the wall. He gently eased his grip and left her to find her feet on the ground again. He continued to gaze at the white wall beside her as Jolene straightened her dress shirt and looked worriedly at his distant expression.

“I was jealous of the attention they gave you.” he finalized, turning back to sit at his usual sleeping spot, unfurling the sheets to better fold them back neatly as it was before.

The young wolf felt a pressure on his shoulder and darted his head to find Jolene’s hand resting there. It was accompanied with smile.

“Jack...they don’t care about you any less. That goes for everyone else, too. They’re probably focused on pushing me harder because, let’s face it: I don’t have sharp fangs or claws. They definitely want to see me grow and make up for what I don’t have. I promise you, I’m not out to steal their attention.” Jolene assured Jack as she got up and held out a hand to him.

Jack shook his head and store at his pillow. “I-I don’t know if I can go back out there now...after that? I-I don’t-”

“It’s going to be okay, Jack. Mistakes happen. And I would like to believe we’re all family, now. You’ll be okay.” Jolene said, taking Jack’s hand herself and bringing him to his feet.

“I disappointed ma and pa...I’m not sure know if I can face them now...” expressed a still-defeated Jack, looking up from the floor to Jolene with seemingly pleading eyes.

  
“Then let’s face them together.” Jolene spoke as-a-matter-of-factually as she gripped his hand and pulled the door open, leading him outside. Jolene beamed as she wordlessly took her time down the stairs.

“You can let go of my hand now.” Jack declared silently, pulling away very lightly, but to no avail.

Giggling, the human replied, “This will make it all the more convincing...not that there's anything to convince...right?”

Jack returned an unsure look.

"...right."

The human smiled as she reached the last step.

_‘Things would be okay. This is just a start.’_

* * *

“I over-reacted, and I’m sorry. I didn’t...mean what I said, Jolene...” Jack admitted, gaze still tilted towards the table, away from his parents.

“You were jealous?” Rubert said obliviously, causing a nearby Margot to elbow him in response.

“Hey, Jack.” Jolene called to him, causing him bring his eye level back evenly to hers. “I already forgave you. It’s fine. Nothing we can’t get over, right?”

Jack seemed to look right through her.

“Yeah.”

“Now,” Cecilia began. “I hope we can all truly learn from this going forward. We must learn to practice and grow together so when tough times arrive, we can better face them together. Isn’t that right, Jolene?”

“Yes, Mrs. Cecilia. We’re good.” she replied with a smile.

“Excellent. Now, there’s only more training going forward. It’ll take time, but if you want to live with confidence in the coming years of your life, we’re going to need your all in the trials ahead. I believe I can count on you all. Am I wrong?”

“No, ma!”

“No mam!”

“Uh uh!”

“No, mother!”

“No, Mrs. Cecilia.”

  
“Good. Now let us rest before we go over our plans for the next lesson.” Cecilia dismissed, accenting with a wide smile.

A bit too wide.

* * *

Midnight had arrived. 

Alphonso sat at his desk, trying his best not to be pulled into an incoming slumber. He was hard at work all night trying to finish more work on his written study of the area’s foundations and flora. Their territory layout was in need of an update after close to a year of not keeping up with it consistently.

“We may not have long.”

Alphonso turned around to find Cecilia leaning against the door frame of his study room. Sighing, he set the papers down and leaned back in his chair. “Don’t you ever knock anymore? If you’re that skilled at sneaking in without announcement, how do I know you wouldn’t kill me in my sleep?”

Cecilia looked at him, expressionless. “You don’t.”

A brief silence between the two ensued before a silent giggle escaped Cecilia’s maw.

“I’m just kidding, honey. We have children to raise, you know.”

“Why are you here so late at night? I was just finishing this paper and...is this about Jack?” Alphonso guessed, tilting his head with an exhausted expression. He found his wife looking back outside of the room before she fully entered and closed it behind her. She folded her arms and answered.

“Yes.”

“What’s to worry about? They’ve already talked it out and we’ve even had a table conversation. Why does it still worry you?”

Cecilia narrowed her eyes and adjusted her shirt. “Correct. We’ve had a conversation with Jolene present. But the kids haven’t been reminded of how we operate in a while. Perhaps we need to engage in a family discussion about things so that their clear on what the real goal is here. The children all need to be on the same page when the time comes...”

Cecilia stepped closer to her husband until she was near enough to rest a hand on the top of the chair Alphonso rested upon.

“What Jack did could have easily blown out of proportion. Then all of what we had set up for the children would have been for nothing. We need to again clarify that they must play the part if this is all to work.”

Alphonso blinked his eyes tiredly to help fight off the lack of sleep and got up from his desk, neatly straightening his papers and closing his journal. He turned and gently wrapped his hands around his wife’s waist and pulled her in close.

“Alright...I get it. We’ll have a conversation with them in private. But for now, let’s just focus on training the human to be an exceptional hunter. Then everything won’t be for nought. The children need this.” Alphonso kissed Cecilia’s cheek lovingly before letting her go. He went back to his wooden desk to grab his journal and papers.

“I’ll get everything set back here and join you in bed very sho-”

  
_“Get away from me!”_ a voice rang out from outside in the distance. It resonated from outside.

  
“What in the hell?” Cecilia uttered as she moved towards the room window with Alphonso and moved the curtains. They found the semblance of a silhouette passing quickly through the clearing of their home, identity hidden by the lack of illumination.

“Not again...” Alphonso wearily looked to Cecilia. “Don’t worry, I’ll check it out this time. I’ll be back. Just stay with the kids.”

  
Alphonso hurriedly rushed downstairs, careful not to make any unwarranted noise that would awaken anyone to the commotion. _‘I hope the kids are still sleep...last thing we need right now is something like this...’_

Opening the front door, he scanned his nearby surroundings and slowly walked closer to the clearing. The origins of the earlier voice was gone by the time he had arrived, but something else soon took it’s place.

“He went this way! I can still smell him, ha ha!” another mystery voice shouted from his left, still further inside the forest.

“Enough of this.” Alphonso said to himself, getting on all fours and running down the clearing. He sped up to better his chances to catch the coming assailants in time and found himself racing into the forest.

He passed into the forest and diligently scanned around until he heard them nearby.

“C’mon, hurry it up, you really gonna get out-ran by a-”

Alphonso jumped out in front of the two intruders, stopping them in their tracks. He posed intimidatingly, back arched and ready to fight. However, upon getting a closer examination of the two, he eased his posture, but not his form.

“What are you two doing here? I thought we told you before. Not to come through our territory.” Alphonso said in a low growl.

“Eh? Oi, Alphonso! I-we didn’t...realize where we were due to the adrenaline.” the taller being stated, walking closer with his partner right behind and revealing themselves to be Mute wolves. The taller one wore a black leather jacket with spike rivets. The shorter wolf had a quiver bag which held a questionably suspect bat with nails driven through the top.

“We’ve discussed this before. Was I not _clear_ enough?” Alphonso questioned, clearly irritated.

“Hah. Yeah, you were. But see, we were chasing this lonesome human and we thought he need a frie-”

Alphonso straightened his posture and stepped up to the taller Mute. He looked at the intruder with a deadly, prolonged glare before baring his teeth.

“Turn back. _Now_.”

The leather jacket-wearing wolf looked past Alphonso to where the human prey had fled to. Making eye contact again with the alpha, he grinned. “Alright, pal. I get it. You win.”

The Mute wolf backed up, snapping to his companion to follow. As the Mute wolves lowered to all fours, the jacketed one paused and looked back.

“Can’t own territory forever, Alphonsey. You don’t _own_ the forest, the forest owns _you_.”

And then the two were off from where they first came from.

Alphonso stood there as they dashed off into the darkness and out of sight. He stood there for longer than he planned to. It was only when he again felt the slight burning sensation in his eyes from his lack of rest that he snapped himself out of his glowering trance and turned back towards the house.

  
He soon found himself at the front door.

Pulling it open, he found himself at the top of the stairs.

And then not long after, he found himself in bed with Cecilia.

“So it was those wolves again....from earlier this month, huh?” Cecilia frowned, conjuring an earlier confrontation in her head.

“They were chasing another human down, but it got away. I stopped them and told them not to come back.” Alphonso explained, relaxing himself under the covers and shutting his eyes for the last time that night.

“Another one? Two in one week already?”

“Maybe it’s just a fluke.”

“Don’t worry too much, darling. If they cause anymore trouble, we’re capable of handling them. Just get some shuteye for tomorrow. The kids have a long road ahead of them.” Cecilia assured. She lay a hand on her husband’s chest.

“Yes. You’re right....we’ll get things straight soon enough. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sweetie.” 


	5. WOLVES HERE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecilia's memories of a buried past comes back full-force.

The lengthy, navy blue cloth was held loosely in Cecilia’s hands.

She store at it for what seemed to be an inconclusive amount of time.

Her world was nearly shattered eleven years ago. And the only tangible reminder of that unemployed fate was left in the form of a note. A note she kept as a grim reminder of what things needed to be. What things _had_ to be.

She opened the desk drawer and slowly rummaged through the papers and files she had found herself accumulating over those years, and under it all was a slightly worn envelope. Inside of it, a similarly worn sheet of white paper. Cecilia came to first re-notice the slightly faded color of red that was splattered over it by a decent amount, then quickly drawing her attention down to the words written boldly in black. She couldn’t even bring forth the will to even read it to herself.

The words had been etched into the back of Cecilia’s mind ever since she had first laid sight upon them. And now it was coming back to her full-force. Disturbingly enough, the blood had not come close to conjuring the same effect the letters written hurriedly and sloppily in ink across the page had. And as the words repeated mindlessly over and over in her head, she could never bring herself to say them.

Why would she anyways? What was done, was done. The paper and the words that inhabited it’s stained surface was now a relic of the past...it had been for a long time. 

Nothing more.

“Nothing more...” Cecilia murmured.

The memories came flashing back regardless.

_Flashes of lightning, and rolls of thunder haunted the air above them._

_The treacherous gusts of wind commanded the trees into a wild frenzy._

_However, these things were the least of their problems._

  
_The rain poured down hard and heavy as the two mutes made their way hurriedly down the muddy path with their fur now completely matted against their skin. They had been searching for hours. Searching for another place to stay. But those hours proved to be agonizing and unfruitful._

_“I...I don’ t think I have much long...” Cecilia clutched her stomach weakly, all of the possible and terrifying scenarios and what-ifs rolling through her head._

_Alphonso looked to his wife with a fear like no other clear on his face._   
_“We’ll get through this, I promise. Just hang-”_

_Alphonso caught something unmistakable through the gaps in the raging tree limbs that were thrashed by the violent winds._

_It was the roof of a house._

“Cecilia?”

The mother alpha snapped back to the present, wiping the unaccounted tears from her face as she rushed to stash the old paper away.

“Y-yes, dear?” she managed to get out.

A small pause followed, following the door to her room opening.

“The children are all ready for their blindfold lesson. Are you alright?” Alphonso revealed as he entered, growing concerned after noticing the worn expression on his wife’s face.

“Yes, yes. I’m just fine. The...kids have come far...I’m proud of them.” Cecilia arose from her chair and laughed weakly. “I’m ready. I’ll be down with you in a short moment, honey.”

Alphonso nodded wordlessly and closed the door behind him.

Letting out a shaky sigh, the mother wolf continued to stare at the wooden drawer that now re-housed the stained paper. The wooden drawer that kept it a secret. But she couldn’t stare at it forever. She couldn’t spend anymore time on what could have been.

_‘I shouldn’t have even opened the damn drawer...’_

Cecilia took a more stable deep breath and tore her eyes away from her desk, gripping the lengthy, dark blue cloth tightly in her hand while she walked away from it, ready to face present times once again.

It wasn’t long before she stood in front of the small group of children, human and wolves alike, ready to begin the next introduction.

“Now...” Cecilia continued as she held the dark blue cloth in front of her. “For your next test, we will be further honing your abilities to sense, hear and predict moment to effectively avoid an attack. Your progresses in the past six months have been quite impressive. I will be measuring Jolene especially on this one in particular since a human’s hearing is much less effective than that of a wolf’s.”

Giggling soon filled the space to the left of Jolene, only for her to find that the wolf children beside her were silently chuckling. Jolene pursed her lips and side-eyed Jack, Rubert, Sebastian, Josef, and even Margot, who quickly noticed the look and lowered her gaze in slight shame.

“S-sorry.” 

“Oh that’s fine,” Jolene smirked and looked froward to the alphas. “I’ll get this down in no time.”

“We shall she, little Jolene. However, I will have to warn you that this is a challenge that not even my own young will be able to simply master within a week, natural advantages or not. This will take time, and it will require patience. This is no longer a simple training exercise. I want all your best efforts. Understand, everyone?” 

Cecilia found the youth all nodding their heads in agreement, and couldn’t help but smile to herself.

“Good. Now, please ready yourselves. I’ll explain how this is to work...”

* * *

**_Knock Knock Knock_ **

_“Hello? Hello? Anyone inside? Please, we-we need help!”_

**_Knock Knock Knock Knock_ **

_“Please, we aren’t here to hurt anyone. We’re not going to kill you or any of that sort of thing! My wife, she needs a place to stay. She’s pregnant! We won’t last out here much longer!”_

_Alphonso began to bang even louder, desperate for any sign of activity within the walls of their possible salvation. He removed his sight from the door to check on his wife, who now lay ill against the porch railing, gazing at the floor in exhaustion._

_“Please! Answer!”_

**_BANG BANG-_ **

_The door to the home swung open and before the wolf realized it, something sharp was pointed directly at the center of his neck. Alphonso’s eyes quickly darted up to meet the figure who held it._

_A fully grown human store the wolf down, daring him to make a move. He pressed the spear just a bit closer into Alphonso’s throat which caused the wolf alpha to instinctively flinch._

_“Please, I mean no harm. We mean no harm. My wife’s pregnant and she’s soon to-”_

_“Don’t care to believe you. I’m not going to take the risk.” the human replied swiftly._

_Alphonso was hard-pressed for anything else to say that would sway the human that threatened him, but he already understood that he had very, very little time to do any convincing. Looking inwards, he found nothing else but another honest-to-heart plea._

_“I understand why...”_

_The human grinned and laughed hysterically as the storm outside raged on. “You, ha, you ‘ **understand** ’? Do you think I’m a **fool**? I know what you Mutes ultimately want, and it’s the extinction and downfall of every human so that you can have your little **perfect paradise!** You really think you’d be asking nicely if your wife wasn’t in the condition she’s in? You really think that even if you were human, I’d give you the benefit of the doubt? Ain’t nobody to trust in this world. This isn’t a country for any old beliefs anymore.”_

_Alphonso frowned deeply. “I-”_

_“The answer is no.” the human said in a drastically low voice. “Now what I will do is have you come in first, so maybe you can try again to convince me before I kill you.”_

**_Kill._ **

_The word immediately set off a rage in Alphonso’s heart and before the human could properly react, the spear was pushed away from the wolf’s neck and wrenched from man’s grip. He stumbled forward with the man and conjured the strength to rush the human to the ground. The spear’s lengthy, wooden part was forced against the man’s neck, effectively commencing the process of choking him out._

_Alphonso growled angrily as he pressed it harder against the human’s windpipe, the man desperately thrashing his legs and gasping for air._

_“You think I’m going to sit back while you threaten me and my wife? I gave you a chance to resolve this peacefully! You should have taken it!” Alphonso shouted through the howls of wind that raged outside._

_Through the short-lived flashes of light the lightning gave off, the wolf could better observe the expression the human gave as he glared daggers into the man’s eyes._

_The expression of pure fear._

_And the expression of expectation._

_Alphonso saw these things and relaxed his grip a bit._

_“I won’t kill you...but you will no longer posses the power to kill us either.”_

_The wolf stood quickly with spear in hand and before the human could arise, struck the man in the temple, effectively knocking him out._

The covers around Cecilia shifted as the reoccurring memories further haunted her ability to fall asleep. Her eyes were tired, but her mind refused to shut off as she store at the desk drawer for an elongated period of time.

That _damned_ drawer.

_‘No...not tonight.’_

Cecilia forced her eyelids shut and rotated towards her husband, pressing the side of her face boldly against the pillow. She opened her eyes briefly to observe his calm form one last time for the night as his chest rose and fell to the rhythm of his breathing. The mother wolf couldn’t help but feel just a bit calmer. He had saved her life more times than she could ever account herself for. And through each other, they both survived this far. She wouldn’t let anyone take their new-found peace from them. And if that took using a pawn to help her own pieces to make it through strong, she had no qualms with her plans at all. She couldn’t afford to anymore.

Before she even knew it, she had already fallen fast asleep.

* * *

“You need to tighten your movements more, Jolene! You’re getting sloppy!”

Jolene registered the words Cecilia spoke as they echoed down from the cliff above. She didn’t have much luck with today, and after 5 months of training, the blindfold test was probably her hardest endeavor so far. It wasn’t long before she realized the mistake she had made, but it was too late. Just a second of pulling her attention towards the mother alpha’s criticism led her focus on her opponent’s noisy movements astray and a form equal to her size pounced forward and pinned her, effectively making her failure ratio even closer to double digits.

“Come on, I thought you said this would be a breeze!” Jack teased.

“Oh, get off of me already, I’ll show you a breeze!” Jolene challenged him with lordly grin, steadying herself back to her feet. She mockingly pulled at the knots that held her blindfold together and beckoned Jack with a hand.

“Come at me.”

Jack growled lowly and grinned back, beginning his slow circle around her. She however, remained completely still. The human relaxed her breathing and remembered what mother alpha told her.

_‘Only one move is permitted by the offender. Once the attacker has made their move against the blindfolded, they must stop. If the blindfolded has successfully avoided the offender, they receive a point. Vice-versa for the attacker. If the defender makes a move to avoid, but the attacker hasn’t yet made an attempt to pin, no points are awarded. First one to ten is the test’s victor.’_

And Jolene was currently at only four. Jack was nearing a seven.

The rest of the wolf children sat beside their parents from above, all wearing bored looks and head holding further accommodating their thoughts on the dragged-out sparring match below. All but Margot, who visibly beamed excitement amongst the rest.

“Come on, Jolene! You can still win it!” she cheered, pumping a balled fist into the air.

While she appreciated the pep-talk, Jolene was growing a bit diverted by all of the shouting. She quickly realized, however, that this was exactly the issue she needed to tackle. Regardless of what was happening around her, she needed to put all of her focus on the central task at hand: tracking Jack’s moments.

 _‘No wonder why Mrs. Cecilia isn’t hushing her...it’s a package deal, I guess...’_ Jolene thought as she heard a sharp, but discreet shift come from her left.

_‘This is it!’_

She let her collective instincts handle the rest. Tossing the coin of probability in her mind, she rolled forward and skidded against the green grass, awaiting the eventual call from the two judges from above.

“Brilliant timing and form, Jolene! You’re getting somewhere now!” Cecilia acknowledged form afar.

The scores kept bouncing with an air of unpredictability looming over the two opponents. Five to seven went to six to seven, then six to eight, eventually settling at eight to ten.

Aaaand Jolene had lost again. But they’d all be lying if they said she wasn’t getting close.

A number of days later, Jolene was offered a chance to join the family on a little trip to a lake down the embankment further through the home’s forested area. Ever since she had lost everything and gained something else, she always made guesses on what the outside vicinity of the wolf alpha’s territory would look like. The human took this opportunity as a start to find out.

When she followed the pack past the thick gathering of trees to the outer edge, it was like a whole other world had opened up to her. She gasped at the beautiful reflection the sunset made against the fairly large and circular gathering of water that presented itself further below, the rim of the lake full of a consistent but vibrant plant life.

“Ooh, What are those?” Jolene asked, pointing at the particularly stand-out green and round plants floating on the watery surface.

“Those are lily pads. They’re leaves that repel moisture from their surface. Despite their floaty appearance, their actually connected to a stem that goes all the way down to the bottom of the lake.” Alphonso revealed to her as the human marveled at them from a distance.

“Putting all of that botany knowledge to use, huh sweetie?” Cecilia came from behind and leaned against her husband, holding him close. They both laugh lightly and turned towards their children.

“You’re free to take a closer look if you’d all like.” the mother permitted.

As the children all made their way near the lake, the parents both eyed Jolene in particular.

“We’re getting closer. It’s almost time.” Cecilia noted, resting her head against his shoulder.

“I know.”

While Jack, Josef and Rubert settled near the ridge of the lake to find and throw loose rocks, Jolene settled for following Margot, who was now settled near a growth of bushes. Slowly walking up behind her, she found her rummaging through them and picking out bright flowers, sorting them in a pile beside her. The wolf’s ear twitched as the grass behind her crunched.

“Watcha' doing?”

Margot turned and gave a small smile, holding out a white flower with a yellow center along with a string of vine.  
“I usually come out here and make as many flower bracelets as I can. There’s not a lot of these flowers where we live.” She looked to the ground and paused before returning a more excited look.

“I can teach you how to make them if you want?”

Jolene’s eyes lit up with cheerfulness.

“Yeah, that would be nice!”

The two giggled as Margot brung forth the vine to give her an example of how, slowly stringing and weaving it together with the flowers one by one.

Further back in the forest, a clawed hand rested against the bark of the thick trees that hid them from view. A pair of eyes observed intensively as the two alphas kissed out of sight from their children.

“Looks to me like some love wolves are harboring a human. Heh, seems we’ll have our replacement snack sooner than we thought.” the figure chortled, straightening his spiked leather jacket and slowly merging back further into the forest.

* * *

  
_In the dead of night, a kitchen knife was gripped vigorously in one hand while the other shakily reached for the doorknob._

_‘All I have to do is open it and end it. No more risk. No more worries. My child will be safe.’_

_Cecilia continued to look wide-eyed at the handle connected to the door that separated her from the human, her willpower quickly failing her. But ponder she could do no longer, very delicately and cautiously guiding the door open. The moonlight glinted through the partially opened blinds as the human’s bound form lay hunched against the wall farthest from her, the strips of light from outside conveniently highlighting her target._

**_‘You won’t hold me forever, I promise you!’_ **

_Cecilia shook her head sharply in an attempt to push out the words from her mind. She grew closer and closer, her feet creaking lightly against the wooden flooring. The man stirred slightly and the wolf paused in her tracks._

**_‘I don’t have anything else to lose...so try not to fall asleep!’_ **

_Cecilia’s eyes twitched as her grip on the knife started to become even more stressed than before. It was at this point that the sharp instrument was just as a part of her as her own hands were. She was not too far now._

_‘ **Whether it’s me or someone else, your time will come, I swear!’**_

_At this point, she was on auto-pilot, the full realization on just how close she was to finalizing her wishes coming upon Cecilia as the knife hovered only a few feet from the human’s neck. The duck tape that covered his mouth had served a purpose of silencing his seemingly unending and threatening cries, and now it would soon prove itself to be of use yet again._

_‘No one will hear you.’ the soon-to-be mother thought assuredly as she readied to take the first strike._

_The knife raised and stood within a few inches of the intended target before she felt something firmly grip her wrist. Cecilia flinched and found the human’s eyes wide and fixated into hers as he screamed through the duck tape, quickly fumbling to his feet and wrestling over dominance of the knife._

_But everything moved slow for Cecilia._

_Before the human could prolong his chances, Cecilia lowered her head and brung it back up with as much power she could muster, effectively contacting the bottom of his chin. The human’s head snapped back and his grip on Cecilia’s arm loosened._

**_‘Not even that baby is safe. I hope you understand that.’_ **

_There was no mercy. The final words that the human relayed to her through the door earlier in the night replayed through Cecilia’s mind as she rushed forward and buried the knife’s edge clean through his stomach. She ignored the cry of pain as she wailed tearfully and blindly plunged it through him again; this time through his chest. Then again, and again and again._

_She pulled the edge out for the final time and watched the human slump to the floor gurgling, his unbound hands resting motionless in a quickly pooling river of blood. Somehow, he had been able to free himself of the bed sheets that Alphonso tied his hands up with._

_Through the flowing tears, she quickly noticed something else. Something white. She stooped down and reached a shaky hand just behind the body and pulled it away quickly._

_It was a folded sheet of paper._

_She got to her feet and unfurled it just as Alphonso came bursting through the door._

_“Cecilia! Wh-” the alpha wolf paused after laying sight upon the corpse and the human blood that trailed from it._

_“Ce-Cecilia...what happened...what did you-”_

_The knife clanged to the floor as she answered._

_“He was pretending for...who knows how long. He got free...and he wrote this.”_

_Alphonso took hold of the paper as Cecilia buried her head in her hands. His eyes widened as he slowly read the words to himself._

  
_**NOT SAFE** _   
_**WOLVES HERE** _   
_**WAIT UNTIL MORNING** _

  
Cecilia stirred lightly as she rested through the night, her arms positioned around Alphonso’s sleeping body.

She soon found herself still again, a smile spreading across her face.


	6. Some Book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cecilia reveals a rather convenient gift for Jolene.

_**1 Week Later.** _

The long and relatively light spinning metal pole swirled through the air in a circular motion for a good time before Jolene lost it’s control and momentum, leaving from the grip of the human’s fingers and clattering to the ground. Initially flinching, The human wordlessly stepped to the metal staff and retrieved it while she relaxed her form again. She retried spinning it and this time successfully stopped it’s cycle, ending her stance with the thinner side of the staff pointed away.

Jolene smiled to herself, but it faded as she solidified her stance and began to repeatedly thrust the staff’s end outwards in a controlled fashion, striking the space in front of her in quick but patient bursts.

Ever since she found the convenient rod behind the house, she had put herself on a mission to work on squeezing time in to practice with it, adding the task along with her pack training. The only problem?

She had no solid idea what she was doing.

So she resorted first to the moves that came naturally to her; the twirling of the staff, the jabbing of the staff...she even tried to catapult herself through the air with the staff, but that just ended with a face full of grass and a laughing audience of wolf children.

Even still, she kept at it when the usual daily tests were over, generally starting near the conclusion of a day’s sunset. It had left her with some spare alone time to practice and think. It wasn’t long before those thoughts branched out into much more serious themes.

_‘Those killers are still out there...somewhere.’_

Jolene mused sourly to herself, her eyes fixated aimlessly in front of her while she swung the metal pole just a little faster. 

_‘Just roaming free...not a care in the world.’_

_She doubled_ her swing strength, staring straight into the unlit forest.

_‘One day, they’re gonna pay for what they did to my mom...and my dad.’_

Jolene stiffened her arm and put a large amount of emphasis in her next swing as her waist twisted and the rod pushed against the air.

“They’re gonna pay...” Jolene hissed silently as she swung the staff at her strongest, throwing herself off balance and catching herself as she spun to the ground. Staying stagnant for a short while, she got back to her feet and held the staff in front of her, observing it through the silence of the coming night. The tears came next, but she fought her best to hold them back.

“Hey, Jolene?”

Jolene quickly span around and eased herself when she realized who it was. On top of the small hill was Margot, who had just started her decent down to where she resided. She dashed up to the human and slowed down a bit as she got closer.

“You’re not going to hit me with that, are you?” Margot joked as she mockingly held her hands up in front of her. The wolf gave off a brightening smile as she gained a small chuckle from the human, whom still remained turned slightly away from her.

“No...friends don’t hit friends with metal sticks.” Jolene tilted her head towards the sky and stood motionless while Margot stood awkwardly behind her, rubbing her arm.

“He he! Yeah...mom and dad sent me out here to tell you that dinner is starting. Mom said she made a killer strawberry pie for after and...she was...gonna surprise you with it...before I spoiled it.” Margot face-palmed herself before laughing. “Yeah, sorry.”

“T-that’s, o-okay...Margot...” the human sniffled out as her shoulders heaved up and down slightly.

Worriedly, Margot grew closer and put a hand on the human’s shoulder. “Jolene, are you crying? Are you okay?”

“I’ve been thinking about them a lot...I’ve been thinking about my parents.” Jolene said, turning around to reveal the weeping she had been doing. “They keep popping up in my mind and I can’t stop it!”

Margot frowned at the growing cries of the human and desperately searched for something to say. She ultimately felt herself propelled to step forward, putting her arms around Jolene in a heartfelt hug. The human returned the gesture.

“I’m sorry for what happened. But it’s going to be okay. I don’t really know how, but it will be. You just have to keep strong. Besides...” Margot pulled a spare flower bracelet off of her wrist and offered it to her through open palms. “You have us.”

Jolene cleared her tears away, doing her best to calm herself down. Accepting the gift, she equipped it around her wrist and grinned back through the anguishing thoughts.

“Okay...thank you, Margot. Thanks for a lot of things.”

* * *

  
With all of the night’s food clear from their plates, the table was emptied of it’s occupants as the youthful footsteps made their way up the creaky, wooden steps to their rooms for another restful sleep. All but Jolene, who was last behind Margot before a call from the kitchen brought her steps to a halt.

“Jolene, dear? Could you come back down, please? I have something I want to give you.” the voice called out, Cecilia unmistakably the source.

Jolene turned back around and met the alpha mother beside the dining table, her arms suspiciously hidden behind her back. A bit excited but still skeptical, she looked on at Cecilia’s expressive smile and gave in to the pause the wolf treated her with.

“What are you hiding behind your back? Am I in trouble? Did I do something-”

“No, no sweetie. It’s something we had sitting around for the longest time, and it was collecting dust like most of the older things in this place before we tided up. You could almost say it was just waiting around for you in particular...” Cecilia slowly revealed her arms and revealed to Jolene...a book.

Puzzled at first, Jolene tilted her head. “A book?”

“Not just a book. It’s...” Cecilia eyed the title of the small worn publication, visibly squinting her eyes. “The Art Of Bo...ju...stu. Bojutsu. The Art Of Bojutsu, that’s it.”

Cecilia approached and handed the book to her, which Jolene accepted. She studied the cover herself, first noticing just how aged the book was. But what really caught her attention was the picture on the top center that depicted an elderly human posing with a long stick. It was then that it all clicked.

“It’s a book about how to fight with a staff? Seriously? Thank you Mrs. Cecilia!” Jolene beamed, giving her a grateful hug.

“Of course, it’s only right. I’ve been watching you over the past couple of days or so rehearsing with that staff. It seemed the universe itself aligned for you to have it.” Cecilia walked back over to the kitchen sink, readying to clean the last of the dishes as Jolene slowly flipped through the book’s many words and illustrations. As she scanned it for a second time, she noticed something stand out on the first page of the book.

It was a note written in blue ink.

Jolene smiled and looked to Cecilia with utmost gratefulness.

  
“Thank you so much, Mrs. Cecilia. I promise I’ll make good use of it!”

  
Jolene entered as silently as she could through her room door and made way for warmth under her blanket. It hadn’t occurred to her just how cold it got at night until recently, but it admittedly wasn’t too much of a problem to her. She twirled around to place the Bojutsu book close beside her before she found herself turned towards the ceiling.

“Hey, Jolene...what was it that mom called you for?” she whispered.

Jolene removed her eyes from the ceiling to see Margot’s reflective eyes looking at her through her covers.

“Oh. Just some book. About fighting with a long stick...or a staff. I can show you it tomorrow?” 

“That’d be cool.”

An slightly irritated Jack mumbled under his blanket. “Can you both save it for tomorrow? I’m not a fast sleeper like you two.”

Ignoring the comment, Jolene returned her gaze towards the ceiling. Her usual ritual for trying to fall asleep was just looking straight up at it until she just dozed off. A neat little trick her parents had taught her when she was a little younger and it just stuck from there.

_‘My parents...’_

Jolene shook her head and tried blanking her thoughts.

_‘Just stare at the ceiling...’_

And so she did.

“Goodnight, Jolene.” she heard Margot suddenly whisper.

The human child smiled, feeling a little calmer.

“Goodnight, Margot.”

“Goodnight, Jack.”

“Mmhmm....”

And then Jolene began to drift off into the darkness.

* * *

~~**_“You were never meant to be here.”_ ** ~~

  
_Jolene’s small form wordlessly continued on through the darkness. She was not only walking through the darkness, she was walking on it too. She looked down and found the ground to be just as black as a starless midnight sky. Just as void of light or reflection as everything else she tried laying her eyes upon._

  
**~~ _“You should’ve died along with your parents.”_ ~~ **

_Everything was cold. But it wasn’t just the chills of the winds from a source she could not place, it was also something inside of her._

_It was her heart._

_She tried hugging herself. She tried clutching at her chest in an attempt to ease the icy affliction. Still, she couldn’t stop it. It refused to cease._

  
~~ _**“But you didn’t.”** _ ~~

  
_Jolene was hyperventilating. She just wanted it to stop! Was this a nightmare? Yes! It was a nightmare! Jolene was now lucid and her eyes focused. Focused not on a fixed point, but a goal. To run. To move and keep moving until it all stopped. So she broke into a sprint. A sprint towards nowhere in particular._

  
_**“So here we are.”** _

  
_Before the human knew it, she had taken her last step. Her leg came forward and tried to meet something solid, but it just fell through. And so began her decent into nothingness. The winds oppressed against her as she dived headfirst into the never-ending darkness, her screams left unheard._

_Her screams left unheard as something enormous began to form as it’s shadowy appearance grew nearer and nearer._

_Her screams left unheard as the final shape took place, her body now falling into the sharp jaws of a wolf._

* * *

Jolene jolted upwards in a sweat as strands of moisture drizzled down her forehead. She took in sharp breaths as she looked forward at the wall in front of her, her eyes wide with terror. That terror quickly morphed into the understanding that it was just another one of her nightmares...but this one had hit different.

She shifted her eyes briefly towards the two small forms of the wolves that were still deep in their own slumbers before getting shakily to her feet and looking out the back window. It was clearly still night, but just barely was the faint light of a forthcoming sunrise. Wordlessly and without much noise, Jolene grabbed the staff propped up beside her and made way out of the room with the grace of a mouse. She eventually found herself out of the front door, careful not to alert the family of her actions as she silently closed it.

She had to let out some steam. 

So she made way down the hill and through the soft grass, growing closer towards the main forest entrance with every step lighter than the last. It wasn’t long before her walk morphed into a run, then a rushed dash towards the nearest tree.

**Clang**

Jolene’s metal staff was sent swiftly against the bark of the nearest tree and bouncing off, the recoil sending Jolene stumbling back slightly. The human could still see the home through the branches and leaves and traveled deeper as a result, trying best not to awaken the wolves from their sleep.

**Clang Clang Claaang**

Jolene swung the rod again and again, mercilessly whipping at the unfortunate trees that were chosen seemingly at random by the agitated human. She gritted her teeth as she pressed on at beating her weapon against the solid wood in a sloppy anger. Bits and pieces of bark chipped and stripped as she went on. With a mighty effort, she swirled around in an arc and used the momentum to land a solid slap that echoed throughout the forest for an unknown range.

**CLAAANNG**

The human slumped forward and softly rested her forehead against the tree and let go of her staff, half-expecting herself to cry again. But to her surprise, nothing came. She was just really tired. She had nearly forgotten why she had dragged herself out in the first place in the befuddlement of the moment. Jolene straightened herself, silently observing the markings her staff made on the surface of the tree in front of her and she abided there as her mind began to regulate itself again. Her head swiveled to face behind her after she thought she had heard something, but after a good moment of studying her surroundings, she shook it off.

Jolene gave one last glance at the tree she last assaulted before she bent down to pick up the metal staff, only now realizing the damage she could have done to it and hoping it wasn’t bent or anything. A grin stretched across her face as she found her prized training weapon relatively unharmed and prevalent through the abuse.

 _‘Reliable as always.’_ the human thought to herself before she got a weird feeling.

Quick steps followed up behind her and before she could fully turn around, a Jolene was pushed roughly into the tree behind her, the back of her head colliding with the hard bark. She was out cold before she even knew it.

* * *

  
“I heard the clangs outside right after I woke up and found out she wasn’t here...did she...leave?”

Cecilia shook her head assuredly at Margot’s tearful worries. Eying her husband who had just re-tied his ascot around his shoulders, she replied with a calming voice.

“She most likely just went out early for some more training...your father will head out to check for her. Don’t you worry, darling. She’ll turn back up just fine. Just go back to bed, okay?”

Alphonso nodded to Cecilia as she closed the door to Jolene’s room, the mother wolf quickly moved with stride to her husband before he made his way down the hall towards the stairs.

With a slightly panicked tone, she quietly voiced her own concern.

“Do _you_ think she ran away? At this point with what she’s learned, maybe she thought she could-”

“I doubt it. Try not to worry about it too much. I’ll be back with her before you know it. I promise.” Alphonso guaranteed her, resting a hand on her shoulder. When he felt it relax against his confident grip, he finally turned to walk down the stairs. But then he paused on the last step.

“But Cecilia...just in case you saw through my words...don’t hold your breath. Just be prepared for anything.”

Cecilia leaned against the nearby wall in a quiet frustration as her mate slipped through the door to the outside.

Only then was she left to properly rant in the confines of her mind.

_‘Not now...not after all of this work... **grrr**...she better...'_

Her keen teeth were revealed, baring through the irritated thought of so much lost progress. All of the lost potential for her children. The idea of her being deprived of her unfinished work was impressed into her thoughts as she lay upon her bed and glared into the white ceiling above her with no intention of sleeping.

Not until she heard the front door of her home open once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> Just a few more chaps left, everyone!
> 
> I also have something "bigger" in the works that focuses on a major storyline in the world of Las Vistas. And with the announcement of KIPO's season two, I'm only even more hard-pressed than before to finish it's first part. Please grant me the almighty power to both type faster and not rush things!


	7. Just The Way It Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alphonso heads out to search for Jolene.

Alphonso skidded down the high ground and his paws met the grass as they pounded against the ground in a quick bid for the forest. He stopped abruptly when the entrance finally met him, rising back to his feet and locking eyes between both paths to his sides. Narrowing his eyes, he knelt down, observing the leafy ground around him for anything that would come off as unnatural.

He found nothing in particular. Slowly and cautiously, he continued his search deeper inside.

_‘Maybe she did run off...maybe.’_

* * *

Everything was still black...but Jolene was now slightly aware. She was finally coming to, but her eyes were left in want to open. The friction from the terrain was felt underneath her as she was felt her body quickly being lugged down a certain path before the direction shifted into another one all together.

  
“We don’t have long, let’s hurry it up!”

“Yeah, okay. It’s not like you’re doing any of the dragging, or anything.”

“What was that?”

“...nothin’.”

It was at this point that the human’s eyes began to flicker, fully opening in a daze to reveal the nocturnal forest. Although Jolene’s headache had begun to become more apparent, her common-sense was still very much intact.

_‘I’m being dragged!’_

The revelation immediately sent the human child's mind into panic mode, but fortunately, she caught herself and held her movement’s still. She had to keep her return to consciousness to herself. If they found out...

Jolene tried running the various scenarios of what they would do to her if she made a move. Then she ran through the ones that involved waiting until they got to where they planned to take her...

 _‘What are they going to do with me?’_ Jolene thought in a shivering terror, wincing to herself as the headache’s presence refused to be ignored.

_'Are they gonna...kill me?’_

Jolene had no idea who was even taking her away, as she never got a good look at anyone before she was knocked out, and she sure as heck wasn’t twisting around to look and find out. So she continued to stare at the huge cluster of tree branches above and their greenly leaves as she attempted to muster any idea on what to do next. That is, until the two kidnappers began conversation once more.

“Once this is over, we bury the bones and leave the note. Let ‘em know that this ain’t their territory anymore. Once everyone comes back from their scavenging, we all regroup and we hit ‘em both hard. Or we kill them slowly...either way is good for me. They’re clearly outnumbered.”

“Yeah, but what about those kids?”

“What about them?”

“...we aren’t child murderers.”

“What do you think we’re about to do now? You make the sacrifices that need to be made to survive."

Jolene’s dragged body halted suddenly.

“We leave them alive. They aren’t a threat.”

A low growl emitted not far in front of Jolene, just as the grip on the back of her shirt collar was doubled. That noise was unmistakable. She at least knew she wasn’t dealing with a human.

“You think you’re the leader all of a sudden? You think you’re suddenly calling the shots here? Is that it, punk? Cause when they grow up, they’ll definitely become more than _‘just kids’_! Would you be prepared to deal with them then?” the masculine voice hissed through gritted teeth in a failed attempt at a silent reply.

No words followed; just silence and the slight humming of breezy winds through the trees. Then a low sigh.

“Just the parents, then...but what are they worth without them? Think about that, too.”

Jolene’s heart sank upon hearing those words. Not only were they unintentionally describing her, but she was sure they were actually talking about...

As soon as Jolene felt the grip on her collar loosen, she jerked herself upwards and effectively pulled away from the unknown abductee. Her feet met evenly on the ground and without another thought, she made a desperate break for it.

“Dammit, after her!” one of the voices shouted as Jolene ran desperately through the night, weaving in between the trees that she met along the way. The human knew that she wouldn’t be able to escape her pursuers. She knew she didn’t have much time before they caught up. So she screamed. She shrieked as loud as she could in a last-resort bid for anyone willing to help her...or maybe things would get worse from there on. Either way, her voice was as loud as could be.

**“HEEELLP! Cecilia, Alphonso! Anyone!”**

* * *

The alpha father sniffed the ground as he attempted to pick up something; anything with Jolene’s scent. But still no dice. He traversed further before he sighed in irritation, staring off into the distance.

_‘Maybe you did...’_

Alphonso slowly shook his head, dispelling the doubts filling his mind as he continued further. It was only a few steps later that he felt something solid and cold underneath his foot. He looked down immediately, the object now clear as day to him. It’s form, slightly covered in the fallen leaves, was pulled from under their coverage and observed in the grip of his hands.

Th wolf’s eyes widened in realization at what he held.

“It’s her staff...” Alphonso murmured to himself, looking around for anything else that would help him.

His search finally halted, looking intensively at the very trees that surrounded him. He drew in towards the closest one to notice the multiple, small indentations and marks that were in abundance. He checked the trees nearby, and found the same were true for most of them as well.

_'She couldn’t have just run away...if she did, then why would she leave the staff?’_

Then it clicked.

“Those sons of bitches...” Alphonso growled angrily as he dropped the metal staff and made way further through the woods. His hastening pace and suspicions were as confident and steadfast as his search for Jolene.

* * *

  
Jolene was knocked off of her feet and held to the ground against her back, a furred hand clasping against her mouth.

Right then, her hunch was finally confirmed. It was still dark outside, but the form was unmistakable. It was another Mute wolf. Jolene’s pupils thinned as the first encounter with it’s kind relayed through her mind in a flash. The only difference being that if she didn’t escape this time, she wouldn’t be so lucky. With nothing left to do, Jolene thrashed her body madly, releasing all she had in her to force herself free.

“Stop moving, kid. Or I’ll make this so much more worse than it already is!” the Mute wolf growled lowly, reaching inside of the sheath attached to his jeans to reveal something sharp. 

Jolene froze in a flash the second her eyes laid upon the blade.

The look of another apparent layer of utter concern and fear passing over Jolene made the wolf chuckle, bringing the knuckle blade closer to her neck. He rested the flat side of the cool steel against her neck to show he wasn’t simply throwing around threats.

“Why don’t you just kill me here, right now?” Jolene found herself calling out. Her expression grew at ease, but her eyes didn’t fool anyone. She was deadly afraid.

“Becaaauuse...we need you in the right place at the right time for a certain someone you know. Now get up, or things will get messy...you scream, you run, you do anything without my say so...and you’re dead, kid.”

Jolene stood with the two wolves willingly with the knife kept dangerously close as the canine with the leather jacket griped her arm and continued forward, his partner not far behind.

It wasn’t too long before a small structure was revealed in the nearing distance, the seemingly endless forest coming to it’s conclusion as the sky was fully revealed, moon showing itself off from above in all it’s glory. Jolene was pushed forward and lead to what now was evident to be a wooden shack, though she paused when they reached within a few feet of it, her body shaking under the full understanding that this could very well be her last moments on earth.

“What’s your names?”

The leather jacketed wolf raised an eyebrow at the human and then looked to his compadre. He let out a hardly laugh and kneeled down, getting close to her face.

“Why does that matter, human?”

“Because,” Jolene moved her own face nearer to the wolf’s, nose touching nose as she frowned deeply. “If I’m going to die, at least give me that. I want a name to my killers.”

The wolf continue his unblinking stare into the little human’s eyes before he popped the collar of his jacket and straightened his stance. He smiled deeper than before and shut his eyes, lowering his head to the ground.

“Shit, kid. I don’t know if you see it yet, but you’ve got more guts then you might give yourself credit for.” the leader wolf admitted, waving a hand to his companion. “Please, give you’re name if you’d be so kind...”

The bat-wielding wolf sighed and obliged.

“It’s Flint, okay? Now can we-”

“The name’s Ty.” the pack leader revealed, lowering his knife. “It’s short for my real name, but it’s all you’re getting.”

Jolene continued to stare into the pack leaders magenta-colored eyes as if yearning for something more.

Because she was.

“Why? Why are you doing this? I heard you talking about waiting for a certain someone I knew...were you talking about Mr. Alphonso and Ms. Cecilia?” Jolene asked, her heart beating faster to the notion of them targeting them because of some reason unknown to her.

“Why would you want to do something like this, I need to know!” Jolene yelled, prompting Ty to pull the knife at her again.

“Quiet! Keep your voice low, or you won’t make it through the next few seconds alive...” the leader hissed.

The human flinched and clenched her fists, more out of fear than anything else. She trailed her eyes quickly to the glint of the moon’s light shining on the blade.

“O-okay...please, just tell me.”

Ty eyed the forest briefly before narrowing his eyes at Jolene. “Your little caretakers owe us a human. We were chasing one that eventually made it’s merry way through their territory, yes...but that territory wasn’t originally there’s. It was _ours_. Me and Flint’s here.”

Jolene’s eyes held the look of confusion. “What? Yours?”

Ty’s eyes trailed upwards, grin never faltering. “But you see...this was before our pack grew. A good number of years ago. Back then, it was just him and me. So when I discovered that they’d suddenly moved in to town...or eh, _forest_ , after being out on a little road trip with the crew, a few human’s had found their way through and apparently made home there beforehand. They were killed there, too.”

Jolene’s mind stopped, completely focused on the last bit. 

_‘Humans? Killed?’_

Ty’s laugh broke her trance. “You seem pretty damn horrified. That’s right. You _heard_ me right. Your wolf protectors are _human killers_.”

Jolene was on the fence hard about what he had spilled. The thought that this whole time she was in the confines of a home where her own kind were...murdered?

 _‘Wait...no...there has to be more...to this...maybe they were defending themselves?’_ Jolene rationalized internally, shaking her head.

“After the fact...well, conveniently _right_ after the fact, we told Alphonso the whole deal and you know what he did? Challenged me to a fight for the territory! Typical wolf stuff, you know? And guess what happened next...”

Jolene looked up to the wolf, who had left her nervous in the suspense.

“He kicked my ass, of course! Otherwise I wouldn’t have ever ended up out here holding you at knife point to _kill_ you!” Ty threw his arms exaggeratedly into the air.

“But all of this is gonna change real soon. Real, real soon. My gang’s gonna be back in a few days, and we’re taking back what’s rightfully ours. Screw the damn alpha code of conduct. The alphas can come right now, or in the morning or two weeks from now...doesn’t matter. I’m going to kill them both.”

Jolene’s eyes broadened and her pupils shrunk. Everything that she had left shot through her mind in a flash.

A place to live. Two people who promised to look after her...who helped her to teach herself to be safer. And Margot...

Protection. A family. She wouldn’t let that be taken away from her again.

  
_“Whatever you do, even when it’s hard...if you ever find yourself in a position where your unable to escape while in contact with these Mutes, show no fear to them. Stand your ground as best as you can.”_

  
In a flash, Jolene rushed forward and pushed against Ty’s chest, successfully sending him on his back. She wasted no time in gripping his wrist and savagely slamming the arm against the hard ground with as much strength as she could muster, the knife in which the hand held loosening and being left to fall to the dirt.

Her winning streak was short-lived as Flint was at her in an instant, roughly gripping the back of her shirt and pulling her off of his leader, shoving her back against the rigid dirt floor. It wasn’t long before Ty clamored for his knuckle blade and held her by the neck. Jolene’s resistance faltered as the knife hovered dangerously above her head.

“Alphonso and the stupid bitch are gonna pay for what they took. This is just the start.” Ty spat out, grinning madly.

“Why does it have to be this way, Ty?” Jolene whimpered in a desperate plea, her eyes quickly filling with sorrow and tears. Her brave facade had been broken in the face of certain death.

The pack wolf gazed into her eyes with a look that briefly held something more than just murderous intent. But it was swiftly dispelled with a vicious glare. And with this vicious glare, he responded.

“Because that’s just the way it is, human.” Ty replied as he raised the blade higher and constricted Jolene’s throat tighter, readying the knife’s decent down. Jolene struggled with all of her might and tried pushing the wolf away with her free hand, but none of it was any good. Finally giving in to the inevitable, Jolene clenched her eyes shut.

**“Let her go!”** a voice roared out in a stormily tone in front of them.

  
Ty and Flint looked up into the forest they had just exited to find a silhouetted form gaining ever closer as the origins of the call had quickly become clear.

“Alphonsey! You finally made it! And my, what timing! Guess I mouthed off for too long, huh?” Ty exclaimed as he forcefully pulled Jolene up and held her close to him, knife remaining dangerously near to her throat. Flint rushed himself as he fumbled with his quiver bag to pull out his nail-riddled, modified bat.

“So, how’s the wife and kids? You know, besides this one?” Ty continued, his partner edging closer to Alphonso’s rear.

“I already know what this is about. Just let her go.” Alphonso pleaded through bared teeth.

Jolene attempted to look up to the wolf that restrained her, trying her best to avoid the knife’s edge as she did. “Ty, listen. It doesn’t have to be-”

“Shut up, kid! You don’t know shit about shit!” he yelled angrily.

“She has nothing to do with this, Tyson. Just let her go now-”

Alphonso stopped his imploring to recast his attention toward a fast approaching Flint, who was now running at him with his nail bat held to his side. The bat came swinging from left to right in a swift motion, but Alphonso was lucky enough to leap back in time, avoiding a nasty strike. Flint didn’t give Alphonso any time to rest, however, as the bat was quickly risen into the air, aimed straight for the alpha’s head. 

Thinking quickly, Alphonso moved forward and targeted his grip towards the bat’s handle before it fully came down upon him. The bat’s end along with the numerous nails that accessorized it was left suspended with treacherous implications as it hovered shakily above Alphonso’s cranium.

As Flint struggled with Alphonso for reign over the bat, Ty growled in frustration. His eyes were filled with the fury of impatience as he watched to two wolves tussle with one another. And as Jolene watched on, seemingly helpless to her predicament...through the dreadful anticipation of a horrid ending, she couldn’t help but feel like she had to do something. Anything. So Jolene searched for a way...something. But her mind drew out nothing but blanks.

Until she finally got it.

Roughly weighing the risks and the rewards, Jolene took her chances, and her shot. As the Ty was focused on his partner’s struggle, she gripped Ty’s wrists and pulled it outwards and away from her neck. Before Ty could gain control of the sudden trick, Jolene had ducked herself from under Ty’s grasp and reeled a leg back, swinging it forward with a mighty momentum of gathered strength.

“Yaooow!”

Ty trembled in his steps as he let go of his grasp on the knife in reflex and dropped to the ground, clutching his crotch in agony. “You son of a...”

Ty quickly glanced upwards and watched Jolene go for the blade, but by the time he had summoned any sort of balance, it was already too late. The human child had the knife firmly within her grasp and pointed towards him waveringly before the pack leader even had a steady knee on the ground.

The commotion and incapacitation of his leader drew Flint’s attention away from Alphonso for just the slightest moment, and it proved to be his undoing. With a final, mighty pull, the bat was wrenched away from Flint’s grasp. And with not a moment to waste, Alphonso had swung the nail bat full-force against Flint’s jaw, causing his head to twist to the side. His body collapsed against the ground, blood staining the soil underneath where the wolf’s head rested. Flint’s form was given no final chance at retaliation.

With a wrathful yell, Alphonso brought the nail-riddled bat down against Flint’s skull, his twitching coming to a stand-still. Letting out a rumbling growl, the alpha father subsequently threw the bat to the side and began his charge straight for Ty.

Jolene was frozen in time with the knife she now possessed as it continued to tremble in her small hands. Despite the frightening situation going on behind her, she dared not turn around. It was only after Ty’s infuriated scowl had shifted behind her that she found that she didn’t need to.

A blur bounded past her body and Jolene found that Ty was no longer in front of her. She observed the form of Alphonso further away with a pleading Ty underneath as he straddled him, landing punch after punch into his face. Everything happened so fast. So fast, that as Alphonso brung an arm up and unfurled his sharp claws, she had no time to stop him.

“No Alphonso, wait-”

Blood was launched into the air as Alphonso’s claws slashed mercilessly against Ty’s neck, leaving him gurgling in panic and gripping his throat before he slowly succumbed to the growing pull of death.

Jolene stood wide-eyed and unable to move. 

_‘We could’ve stopped him without...I could’ve...’_

Jolene was quickly pulled from her thoughts as Alphonso finally pushed himself off of Ty’s unmoving form. He remained there on his knees, unmoving and staring into his glassy eyes for a moment before slowly arising to his feet. He turned in a unhurried fashion to face Jolene’s direction and walked forward.

Alphonso stopped beside the human’s form to looked down at the visibly shaken Jolene, some blood left spattered into the fur on his face.

“Let’s go.”

Jolene blinked as she caught the faintly ominous look in Alphonso’s eyes. 

“We...we could’ve-”

“I said, let’s go. Now.” Alphonso repeated with a bolder tone, eyes remaining fixated into hers.

“Okay,” Jolene looked back to the lifeless form that was Ty, her mind still replaying everything that had transpired not long before. “But let me get something first...”

Jolene made precarious steps towards the deceased pack leader, trying her best to ignore the gruesome expression he held to unstrap the knife sheath he had around his thigh. Quickly, she inserted the knuckle blade inside and turned briskly with sheath in hand to hurry away from the corpse, unable to bear the sight of it any longer.

She followed Alphonso from behind as they both made their wordless journey back into the forest and towards home as the early sunrise began to make it’s emergence.

* * *

The front door to the home had finally opened.

Cecilia’s half-lidded eyes immediately shot open. She leaned froward and left the bed to make way out of her room. It wasn’t long before she met her husband at the steps with a disquiet look before a smile was left to spread widely across her face.

It was Jolene. And she was safe. 

Cecilia met a teary-eyed Jolene with a comforting hug as she buried her face into the wolf’s chest. Cecilia squeezed her tighter, assuring her despite her repeated apologies and reasoning.

And she continued to grin through it all, overcome with an overjoyed euphoria. To the point where she wasn’t even listening to Jolene anymore. Because only one thing mattered to her in the moment as the sun’s existence grew ever more present.

  
That she was _hers_.


	8. Shattered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of Jolene’s experience finally comes to a head. Ruinous lies are revealed.

**“The narrow hold hand posture pose involves a “one hand up, one hand down” position on the staff, but with a fist-length of space in between them. This hold is better suited for spinning and rotating maneuvers.”**

  
Jolene demonstrated what she read from the instructional book roughly in front of Margot, who in return watched on in a focused engrossment on top of her bedsheets. She soon stopped the staff’s rotation and looked to Margot with a big grin on her face. “Pretty neat, huh? I think I’m getting a little better!”

“That’s...so...coool!” Margot exclaimed, getting up from her seated position. “I never got to see you doing it up close before...you think you could maybe teach me once you get the hang of it?”

Jolene nodded. “That would be awesome! You could be the student and I could be the sensei. _And after we have both ascended mastery, nothing can stop us!_ ” Jolene punctuated in an exaggerated pose with her staff, a fist against her waist.

Margot giggled at the human’s goofy antics as she slowly began to bare a more concerned expression.

“I...are you still okay? You know, from last night? You were out a lot earlier than usual. I honestly thought you had...run away.”

Flashes and memories of the earlier predicament was unwelcomely introduced back inside of her thoughts.

The anger channeled through a barrage of unhalting staff strikes. The overwhelming headache. Ty, Flint, Alphonso and Cecilia. And the blood. It all stained her mind. She tried to forget.

_‘Why Margot? Why did you have to bring it up?’_

But Jolene’s smiled on nonetheless. She took a quick look at the daisy bracelet around her wrist and replied.

“Yeah. I’m okay. I’d never run away again, Margot. Not anymore, I won’t. I just wanted to see if I could...push my usual schedule back just a bit more so I could have more time to train...guess I should’ve told your parent’s first, huh?” Jolene fibbed, rubbing her head.

Margot smiled and approached closer to the human, grasping Jolene’s hands within her own.

“They’re your parents too, Jolene. We’re a family now. All of us.”

Jolene was taken aback by what she said, unsure of how to properly respond.

Them? Family? A real family?

The human always saw herself as the odd-one-out. Even through all of the assurances and measures Alphonso and Cecilia had gone through to keep her with them...she never came to truly see them as her parent’s replacements. But maybe they didn’t have to be her parent’s replacements. It could just be that they were just good folks who stepped up to help a child when they were at their lowest. She’d at least say that they were damn well close enough.

“Thanks, Margot. You’re...more than just a good friend to me.” Jolene finally worded as she leaned forward to give the wolf a heartfelt hug.

“You’re my sister.”

Jolene hadn’t noticed it, but the purplish-blue marble in her pocket had sneakily fell out and rolled into the corner of the room, undetected and unexposed.

* * *

  
The evening hue of the sun reflected in the light purple hue of Alphonso‘s eyes as he store out the window to his study. He stood there unmoving, one arm holding back the curtain, the other gripped tightly against the chair beside him. 

  
He regarded past events of not long before; Jolene’s misadventure, how she almost died and the rival pack leader’s death. He also regarded the things that had yet to happen as an even darker gaze fixed into the forest. 

About the repercussions of killing Ty and what that meant for the pack that followed under him. About what they would do to him and his family once they found out, if they haven’t already. And one specific thing in particular that worried him most: Jolene’s eventual death.

He’d began pondering how it would all come together the eventful night that his claws were stained with blood. He’d pondered how as he lead a shaken and terrified Jolene through the forest and back to their home. He’d pondered how as his wife held the human child in her arms, observing her creeping smirk grow wider as she observed the human form that she thought she’d lost. Jolene couldn’t see through the masquerading look, but Alphonso sure could. Not that he really needed to.

Initially, he didn’t think that this week was the right time for her “final test”. That it was still too soon and they should wait at least another month so that the children would be just a bit more suited. But after what happened earlier in the woods, and the notion that Margot was getting too close...he was eager to get it all over with so that his kids could be stronger for what might come next, and soon.

The door to his study creaked open in a hurried fashion, Alphonso needing no introduction to know who it was walking past the door frame. A hand soon rested boldly upon his shoulders as he prepared for the spoken words of a question he already had an answer to.

“Alphonso, are you ready?”

He replied without hesitation, re-tightening his shoulder scarf.

“I’m ready now.”

* * *

Cecilia lead the way downstairs as her husband followed closely behind, finding the children had all just finished yet another dinner. 

Alphonso smirked lightly as he walked up to Jolene.

“The final test is soon to start tonight, as you know. And it will be your hardest yet. I would like to offer you a quick walk down by the lake to help relieve any access stress. It should help take the edge off of things. Do you mind?”

_‘Say yes. Jolene...’_

A bit of a ponder had seemed to occupy the human’s mind as her eyes fixated into his.

_‘Say yes...’_

“That would be okay. I mean, I am kinda in the dark about it, after all. A clear mind just means I can ace it easier!”

Alphonso mentally sighed a breath of relief.

His part was done. 

_‘Now Cecilia...your turn.’_

“Splendid. Taking her to the lake is a splendid idea. Please do meditate on tonight’s challenge, Jolene. We’ll be waiting, so there’s no need to rush.”

Cecilia watched on with a tensed stare, her face frozen with a masked look of glee as she watched Jolene walk out with her husband. And as soon as the door had shut behind them, the charade was immediately dropped. The mother alpha turned around to face her children with a face of grave seriousness.

“There’s something that I must reveal to you all in light of tonight’s final test. It’s also about Jolene. As a reminder of who your _true_ enemy is. You all must pay _serious_ attention to what I’m about to say. Something happened many years ago before you we’re all born. It all started when me and your father first came upon this home...”

* * *

  
As Jolene looked up through the break in the trees, she found that the sun still ruled the sky. But it’s reign of illumination was slowly coming to an end. The fading, glittering light that the star left against the recently-visited lake’s surface reminded her of something better. Reminded her that everything terrible that had happened to her had led to something bigger than her pain. That everything could be okay. But then she suddenly remembered something. It was the things that Ty had said.

She gazed on with Alphonso by her side, not wanting to look away from the receding power of the sun’s light against the water. Jolene refused to look at the father alpha as she forced herself to face the discomfort and ask the horrifying question.

“Alphonso...have you ever killed...a human before?”

Everything seemed to move slower for Jolene. Her eyes remained in a rigid position as she continued to watch the small ripples forming in the lake, unwilling to blink until she heard the words spoken.

“...Yes.”

Jolene felt a wave of conflicting emotions about the confirmation. A returning feeling of anxiety and a creeping dread that something like this was being hidden from her. And the release in tension of finally getting an answer. She pushed her voice through the remaining strain of worry.

“I understand why, I..I think. Were...were you protecting your family?”

“...Yes. Yes I was. We were.”

Another long, agonizing pause ensued immediately after. Bravely, Jolene decided to brake it a third time.

“I know it hasn’t been easy for you all, maybe more than it hasn’t been for me. I...sometimes I wake up from horrible nightmares and I’m not sure if I’m still dreaming or not. Like my reality has been swapped. But even though they never seem to let up...I know that eventually they will. And better things will replace them.”

Jolene finally looked to Alphonso, who still had his gaze fixated on the lake; a lake now devoid of any solar reflection.

“I’m going to try my hardest tonight. I promise you. I won’t let any of you down.” Jolene swore to the wolf beside her as she looked on to him, yearning for a look in return.

It took a moment, but her mental wish was finally fulfilled.

“I know you won’t. You...won’t have to worry anymore after this is over.”

Jolene took the words in with a grateful nod, but was a bit unsettled by Alphonso’s unwavering and distant expression.

It wasn’t long after that before he got up and led Jolene back the way they came, approaching closer to the home with every step.

* * *

Jolene watched Cecilia proceed as she spoke, pacing slowly back and forth amongst the young wolves and herself. The human took in every word. Alphonso observed not far behind them. 

_‘Every second brings me closer. This is it. My last chance to prove my worth.’_ Jolene thought to herself with a growing smirk of determination beginning to sprout on her face. She clutched her metal staff tightly.

The distant looks she was getting from the wolf children had been wavered off by Jolene as their nervousness to the awaiting challenge. It has been a long journey for everyone after all...and she herself was still a bit uneasy, but she refused to show it. However, when she had laid eyes upon Margot, the wolf’s rounded eyes displayed a look of ...wariness. It was like her shrunken pupils were frozen in place. They never seemed to leave sight of her. Jolene couldn’t find an explanation for the seemingly fearful look, so she shook it off and just smiled back.

 _‘Just how nervous are you, Margot?’_ Jolene brushed her attention back to the mother alpha.

“...and now, through will, focus and quick-wits...you’ve all proven yourselves worthy of being called self-dependent. There are, however, many different levels of being self-dependent..and you have all passed through the first layer. As you continue to grow, more layers will be revealed. You must all be dependable to flourish through them yourselves as wolves. With and without the help of others. This test will be your last chance to truly prove to me that I am not mistaken.” Cecilia clarified, turning towards Jolene.

“Now...” Cecilia continued as she singled out Jolene, walking up to her form, which she easily towered over. The mother alpha looked down to Jolene with the widest grin. Her teeth were exhibited proudly as she finally placed a hand on the human’s shoulder.

“Follow me.”

Jolene let Cecilia take her hand and stepped closer and closer with her towards the edge of the cliff. They looked on at the trees that concealed what lay ahead of them. The human was snapped out of her quick trance by a shoulder tap.

“Jolene...”

Jolene looked to Cecilia with a smile.

“Yes, Mrs. Cecilia?”

The alpha mother’s grin hadn’t changed. Without another word, the alpha gripped the staff Jolene held by her side and without much of a fuss, it was let go. Jolene was puzzled, but figured it wasn’t needed for what was next.

  
She was wrong.

  
With a grunt, Cecilia chucked the staff far into the air. The little human’s eyes trailed it’s ascendance and decent down the cliff they stood upon as everything traveled in slow motion for her. The metal pole had soon hit the ground with a muted clank against grassy plain below.

“Cecilia, why did you do-” Jolene started, but she was abruptly cut off.

“Now, my children. This is you’re final test...” Cecilia stated boldly as she gripped a hand tightly against Jolene’s shoulder, her claws uncomfortably digging into her skin. 

“And _this_ is your _prey_.”

Jolene’s eyes widened.

“Wha-”

Jolene’s words were huffed out just as the word left her mouth, her form now abruptly suspended into the air. She had been pushed. Pushed by Cecilia. Everything else happened fast. The pain of rotating wildly down the dirt cliff hadn’t registered fully until her roll had come to a stop. Jolene’s head pounded and body ached all over. Even still, her adrenaline hadn’t failed her.

She pulled herself up, her hands shaking as the legs that were supposed to support her first failed to do so, causing her to collapse backwards. She attempted again in a confused daze and raised her aching head to look up, finding Alphonso and the wolf children sliding down the steep hill towards her.

“If you want to live through the night, you’d better run.” an approaching Jack told the human through a deep growl as he and his siblings stalked towards her on all fours.

“Why are you all doing this? This isn’t a test anymore! It-it never was, was it?” Jolene caught her balance as one of her legs nearly lost ground as she backed up. “This is...this is wrong! I trusted you...all of you! Cecilia, why are you _doing_ this?” Jolene looked to the alpha mother with a pleading look for clarity, her eyes watering up and becoming anything but.

“My dear, dear little Jolene...why don’t you ask Margot?”

Jolene blinked away tears uselessly as new ones came to form. She sharply turned her head to face the one being here she had found the most faith in. Even if just a little had remained. She found the once-close friend louring into the bruised human’s eyes with the same kind of expression she met her with just before the ‘test’ had begun. And Jolene finally got what it really was. It was not nervousness that filled Margot’s eyes. It was a dreaded fear. A fear of her.

“Margot...you said it yourself...you said we were family! That we were in this together...I know you meant that!” Jolene prodded loudly as she showed off the flower bracelet around her wrist.

All she got was a growing, devastating look of resentment.

Margot approached slowly, passing by her father to join other young wolves that had all made a ring formation around her. Her once apparent hesitation transformed into something entirely different, her fangs showed through the scowl she mustered up at Jolene. And as Margot lowered herself to the ground, she gave the human an answer through gritted teeth.

“ _We’re_ wolves. And you, Jolene? You’re...you’re a lowly _human_. You don’t...belong with us!”

Jolene’s heart began it’s swift descent into the darkest depths of despair. Everything hurt. And it was not just her body. Her soul felt like it had finally shattered after being lied to and repaired so many times before.

_**“Join us once again, Jolene. And I promise you that we’ll make sure that the world becomes just a bit more bearable. We want you to grow and to be assured that you can fend for yourself...”** _

The distraught and devastated expression on Jolene’s face morphed into something more.

_**“Don’t worry...I understand. You’re still hesitant. Well, I’m not comfortable with being liable to leaving a defenseless young out there on her own...”** _

Something angry.

“You...”

  
_**“Jolene, dear? Could you come back down, please? I have something I want to give you.”** _

Something formidable.

“You...”

  
**_“The final test is soon to start tonight, as you know. And it will be your hardest yet. I would like to offer you a quick walk down by the lake to help relieve any access stress. It should help take the edge off of things. Do you mind?”_ **

  
“YOU FILTHY LIARS!”

  
Jolene turned and eyed the staff that lay not far behind. She pushed her sore legs as best as she could in a desperate, irate rush for the weapon. She was fully aware that the wolves were now following after her. She wasn’t too far, but she could practically feel the sharp teeth snapping at her heels as she dived for the metal pole and brung it in front of her without a second to think.

A rough tackle to her abdomen had effectively knocked the air out of her lungs. This was when she felt her feet leave the ground just as they had met it. Jolene quickly met the grass with a thud, a heavy weight bearing over her accompanied with a lingering snarl. Her eyes clenched on instinct in reaction to the impact, forcefully opening again to reveal her attacker.

It was Margot. 

The only thing that separated Jolene from the sharp fangs set dangerously on piercing her flesh was the staff that now rested under the wolf’s neck. The human struggled as Margot attempted to stretch her head over the metal staff and snapped her teeth at the human’s neck as Jolene gripped the staff’s outer edges and tried desperately to keep her at bay.

“Margot, whatever they told you while I was gone was a lie!” Jolene exclaimed, the anger residing in her eyes fading into a weakened remorse.

  
“No...you humans are nothing but treacherous scum! You’ll do nothing but grow into a monster!” Margot replied, an even deeper rage showing through her increased strength.

“What do you think doing this to me makes you?”

Margot’s eyes widened in a slight bid for the right words, but she narrowed them again, her maw coming dangerous close as Jolene’s arms began to grow tired.

“Just shut up and fight me!” Margot shot back.

As the tension in the air doubled and the betrayal coursed through her veins, Jolene’s fixated look narrowed along with Margot’s.

“Friends don’t hit friends...with metal sticks!”

Jolene grunted out as she mustered the extra strength to push Margot’s head back with the staff before bringing her own forward straight into the wolf’s skull. Margot cried out, stumbling on her hind legs as her focus became disoriented. She had not the chance to readjust as Jolene followed up with a final strike, the second headbutt sending her out cold on her back.

_‘No time for regrets. No time for fear.’_

Jolene found Sebastian and Rupert hounding forth in an angry bid for her life. Still, as her teeth clenched and her hands gripped her staff in anger, Jolene showed no fear. She waited for Rupert to pounce before she slung her staff outwards, striking him hard against the side of his face. This sent him straight into Sebastian as they both tumbled onto the ground.

Josef responded by an attack from the right, bounding for her and rising for a claw strike. Jolene managed to side-step and swept the staff under his feet, sending him on his back. Jolene finished the counter with a solid blow to his head, effectively knocking him out.

Sebastian pushed the unconscious Rupert off of him but was met with a swift jab to the gut and a finalized with a solid stroke against his cranium, laying him out flat.

Jolene was given a short amount of time to observe a growling Alphonso impatiently glaring daggers at her and Cecilia, who watched from above sporting an expression undoubtedly of the angry kind.

Jolene returned the look to the alpha mother, spinning her staff and pointing the edge at an approaching Jack.

“You can stop this, Cecilia! It doesn’t have to be this way!” Jolene screamed out to her, shooting her attention back to the last wolf child.

 _‘She’s really willing to put all of her children at risk like this, after everything? It’s like she didn’t even expect me to put up a fight!’_ Jolene thought angrily as Jack began his charge.

**_“It’s going to be okay, Jack. Mistakes happen. And we’re all family, now. You’ll be okay.”_ **

Jolene shook her head as she attempted to steady her breathing and readied herself.

“You’re gonna _die_ for all of this!” Jack snarled as he made his move, jumping at her.

Jolene ducked, but found out Jack’s trick a little too late, the wolf pushing her from behind and pinning her to the ground. As Jolene turned her head, Jack’s claws came down across Jolene’s face, leaving three thin, parallel scratches in it’s wake.

Jolene hissed and angrily and kicked him off. Shuffling onto her feet, the human child yelled as she followed up with a swift staff strike to Jack’s noggin. He was down for the count. She pressed a palm shakily against her cheek and observed the blood not long before a blood-curdling roar resonated loudly in front of her, getting closer.

“ **RAAAUGH!!** ”

Alphonso was already halfway across the grassy field and coming straight for her, his face twisted in a horrible outrage. Only seconds remained until he would be upon her. But Jolene froze up. Even after all of what she had already done, her rage failed and had run dry.

She was filled with an even greater feeling. 

Fear. 

Jolene knew she couldn’t take the alpha on with just a metal pole. He was too big. He was too strong. What would she do-

Alphonso rammed forth into Jolene and slid with her against the grass, growling madly as he gripped one of her arms and slammed it to the ground.

Jolene cried out, and panicked, the tears in her eyes flowing like a rushing river.

_‘I can’t stop him. I can’t die I can’t-’_

And then she remembered.

The knuckle blade. She had left it on, and they had forgotten all about it.

There was no time. No time for mercy.

Jolene made a rush for the blade and unsheathed it as Alphonso raised his head, teeth in full display as he readied for the kill.

“I’m sorry!” Jolene shrieked, pushing the blade-wielding hand forward.

  
Cecilia blinked as his husband’s head jerked forward at Jolene’s neck. The alpha’s heart had first panged as she had witnessed the human dispatch of her daughter Margot, but saw it as just a fluke. But as her children all began to fail one by one with the task at hand, she clenched her jaw even harder.

_‘We trained her for too long...she shouldn’t have lasted this long-’_

Something else had come to mind.

_‘The book.‘That damned book! That damned staff...I should have never...’_

Everything came back to the present. She found that Alphonso was still positioned the same as before. Leaning over Jolene.

“Alphonso, finish her already!”

Cecilia’s agitation quickly grew into concern.

“Alphonso?”

Then heartbreak.

Alphonso’s form slowly slid to the side as the human squirmed from under him, pulling the knife from his chest.

Cecilia’s voice squeaked out what was supposed to be another call, but her voice failed her. The alpha mother’s hands fell to her sides as her legs trembled, a deep pain growing in her heart.

The remaining alpha wolf peered at Jolene as the human looked up to meet her eyes with the most intense look of dread Cecilia had ever witnessed from her. And then she watched as the human bounded for the forest.

Cecilia was still as statue. She tried to move but she just couldn’t. It was only when Jolene was midway on her hastening to the forest that her legs had finally found their purpose again. She nearly tripped over herself as she made way to her husband and collapsed against his body, rolling him over.

“Alphonso? Alphonso, honey...wake up...” Cecilia shook him, looking to his closed eyelids for a spark, a sign, anything.

“Alphonso, please!” she shrieked, his blood now covering her hands and finally solidifying the fact for her.

That Alphonso was no more.

The mother’s eyes were quickly filling with tears, her crestfallen weeping filling the grassy clearing with no one around to mourn with her. She looked to her children and stumbled to each one, finding they still had their pulses. Then she look into the forest where Jolene had fled, her eyes widening and her pupils shrinking.

Cecilia let loose the loudest roar she could muster and ran hysterically towards the entrance on all fours, hot on the human’s trail.

“ **JOLEEENE** **!!** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> Whoo. Things are finally catching up.  
> So...I'm kinda on the fence about killing Cecilia. Since this is more of a deviation from the source material, I really wanted to do more with her and try to move things in slightly different ways to spice things up.
> 
> I guess we'll see. Stay tuned, and thanks for viewing. :)


	9. Start Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jolene faces Cecilia and makes a hard decision.

Jolene couldn’t tell how close Cecilia was, but she was undoubtedly fast on her trail.

Her feet pounded hurriedly down the wooded path, her feet crunching against leaves that had long since fallen. The child’s mind was in a frenzy. Not more than a measly hour before, she was with some resemblance of a family. And not only minutes before now, all of it was ripped away from her. 

_Again_.

_‘All because I’m a human?’_

Jolene became numb after she had escaped. The tears no longer fell, but the pain was far from absent.   
She hurt her friends...had to kill Alphonso... 

The words he whispered to her as he slipped away still rang through her mind. It gave her a glimmer of hope...but it was a very, very gloomy hope. 

One of her feet suddenly met with something solid as it came down. Not long after, she slid forward and landed on her side. 

_‘No, no, no, got to keep going!’_ Jolene hasted to herself as she forced her already sore body back up and continued her sprint. 

Jolene clenched the metal staff tightly in her right hand as she thought she heard something in the distance. With all the commotion she was making, it surprised Jolene that something more than just a wolf hadn’t attacked her. But then she remembered that this was wolf territory. 

This was Cecilia’s territory.

Jolene was quick to shift her mind forward. She couldn’t think about anything else other than getting away.

The small human dodged past trees, more trees and turned even more corners, doing her best to throw the pursuing alpha off her trail. However, Jolene knew her time was still just as limited. Her legs screamed out in a sore pain and her breathing was only getting heavier. 

Jolene’s eyes widened as she glimpsed the opening up ahead. She was almost out! But her legs had other plans. After pushing them for so long, they just gave out. She stumbled forward and kept herself steady, collapsing onto her knees and gasping for air. 

Jolene glanced back after she thought she heard something in the distance behind her. She mentally punched herself for stopping, but she still caught her racing heart and lungs a much-needed break as her eyes peered back into the forest. There it was again. And it was getting closer. 

Jolene wouldn’t wait around for clarification. There was no need for it. She needed to live, so she needed to keep running. 

And just as she wobbly found her way back on her feet, she heard a voice ring out from not too far away inside the forest, loud and clear. 

“I’m going to kill you, human! You’re close, I can smell you!”

The limit Jolene thought she had reached was pushed even further. With what little stamina she had recovered, she made her way fully out of the forest and found herself in a familiar spot. 

“This is where...” 

Jolene had no time to relive the past. She began to run towards the wooden shed the human saw the last time she was dragged out here. 

“ **JOLENE!!** ” 

The human instinctively snapped her head back to the forest entrance only to have her heart skip a beat or two. 

There she was. 

Cecilia was standing in front of the forest opening close to where the human was with a twisted grin on her face. Her hands were covered in the blood of her husband. The alpha’s shoulders slowly hunched upwards, and   
then she lunged towards her position with a bone-chilling growl. 

Jolene turned to run.

No matter how desperately her mind pegged her to glance back to check, she refused. She felt the searing glare Cecilia had on her as the human’s feet pounded the dirt; her legs vaulting for the shed doors. Still, she knew turning around would be the death of her.

**She couldn’t.**   
**She wouldn’t**   
**She-**

Jolene pulled the shed door back with as much strength as she could muster, creaking ever so dramatically open as the rusted hinges that keep it in function awoke from its long state of misuse.

_‘If Cecilia gets a hold of the door, I won’t have any power to stop her...’_

Finally, just as Cecilia’s barking form hounded in on her, Jolene could slide through the small gap she was able to get out of the effort. The human pulled the rusted door with all of her might and shut it behind her, just as a hard bang emitted against it.

“Arrghh, you little _brat_!” Cecilia’s muffled voice shouted madly and muffled through the heavy wooden barrier that separated them. 

Jolene had no time to waste. She slid her metal pole through the dual door handles just as Cecilia pulled the door from her side, the metal staff bending slightly.  
  
“Gotta find something else...gotta find something else to hold it...” Jolene repeated to herself, hurriedly patting the ground for something akin to her now nearly fractured staff. 

The only source of light resided in the gap in the double shed doors and a few cracks in the wood walls that surrounded her. Although it was less than helpful, it was far better than nothing. And so as Cecilia had suddenly stopped her barging against the door, Jolene began her search for- 

Jolene’s hands brushed across something thin in the corner she was searching. She felt its rectangular, lengthy shape in her hands. Immediately recognizing its form, Jolene rushed for the door. She slid the long block of wood through the door’s two handles just as Cecilia had completed her winded back sprint towards the door. Jolene heard a much louder thud resonate against the door that sheltered her.

“Dammit kid...” Cecilia muttered agitatedly from the other side as she gripped her dulled shoulder.

Frustrated, the wolf leaned forward, resting her head against the door that kept her from her goal. 

“I will get in there, one way or another...or you can just starve yourself. Either way is fine.” Cecilia told Jolene in a low tone. 

“Why?” 

“Because you’re the scum **who killed my husband!** ”  
  
“No...why did...why did you even do this to me in the first place? We were all just getting along! Everything was fine! Then you two...just decided that you wanted me dead?” 

Cecilia laughed coldly. 

“Little Jolene, we were planning on killing you from the very start.”

Even though Cecilia couldn’t see it, she could practically feel Jolene’s heart sink even further. She let out another chuckle, pressing her head boldly against the wooden door as she gripped the handles tighter. 

“And those human’s out there that killed your parents? If given the chance, we would’ve slaughtered them too! You think their little _‘projectile weapon’_ would've stopped us? Anybody that roams in our territory uninvited ends up dead.” Cecilia added. 

“Then...why-” 

Cecilia cut the human off. “Because we wanted to use you! You already know this, Jolene! Are you losing oxygen in there or something!?” 

“It’s not your fault, Mrs. Cecilia.” Jolene said in a shaky tone, her voice much closer.

“What?” 

Jolene sighed and once again, the tears had intruded on her sight. “Alphonso told me...he told me while we were out by the lake that you both killed humans before.” 

“Was I not clear about-” 

“You killed those humans because they tried to kill you! Is that where all of this human-hating nonsense is coming from? I’m so sorry for what happened to you, but not all humans grow to be like that! I’m not like that...I was really trying, mom-!” 

Jolene caught herself a bit too late. A silence overcame the conversation. 

“Mom?” Cecilia repeated in a slightly lighter voice. 

Jolene didn’t reply. 

“Jolene?”

Still no reply. 

“Jolene!?” 

“.......” 

Cecilia took two blind steps away from the shed, pausing to observe the velvet-red that caked her furred hands. She gazed at them as if in a trance, all before bringing her eyes back towards the shed.

Her mind blanked out as she stood there, the thoughts of her deceased husband, the injured children she had left behind on her murderous quest, and conflicted feelings of everything the human child had said to her. 

And then it all receded. And action took its place. 

Cecilia pulled at the handles of the heavy shed doors again to no avail. She then walked over to the sides of the shed, looking for something to aid her in her aim to get the doors open. By a stroke of luck, the wolf found a worn down shovel resting against the back of the structure. She grabbed it and walked to the front, positioning the digging end in between the door gap. 

A sharp crack emitted as something had struck in between the gap of the doors. 

“No...” Jolene backed up. 

_‘She’s trying to break the wood from the outside with something!’_

She looked around for anything to replace the preoccupied staff to use for a last defense, but she quickly remembered the knife, pulling it out and backing up until she hit the wall behind her. She stood shaking inside of her shoes in the dark, waiting for the inevitable.

The little human preoccupied her perceived short time alive to beat herself down.

_‘Why didn’t I just keep running? I knew I shouldn’t have come in here...’_

_***Thunk*** _

_‘I couldn’t stand my ground the way you wanted me, dad. I’m sorry...’_

_***Thunk*** _

_‘I thought maybe if I tried...’_

Jolene slammed a fist against the wooden wall in a abrupt bout of anger.

_‘...then maybe Mutes and us could get along...’_

**_*Thunk!*_ **

_‘I was wrong...’_

The last hit the shovel made against the blockage snapped the wood bar in two and left her metal staff bent and unusable. All Cecilia had to do was open the doors.

“Your past is what put us where we are now!” Jolene yelled, the grip on her knuckle blade tightening. “If you hadn’t taught your kids to hate humans...if you had just given me a real chance...none of this would’ve happened!”

The door was finally pushed open, the moonlight highlighting the alpha wolf’s slowly-revealed form from behind.

“If you gave me a chance, then your husband would have still been alive!”

Cecilia slowly walked forward into the shed and dropped the shovel. She eyed the blade in Jolene’s hand and let out a low growl.

“There’s no going back, Jolene...you know that.”

Jolene responded by pointing the blade at her and stiffening her posture, ready for what might come next. She paused, looking past the wolf to her salvation; the shed doors.

“I know that now. I should have known better than to trust wolves. I should have known better than to trust Mutes...” Jolene said in a cracked, dangerous tone. Her tears no longer fell, and her face had changed into something totally different than the bewilderment that had over-saturated it in the past hour. The anger that had built up over time was finally at it’s peak with the total acceptance of what was.

Cecilia lowered her head and finally rushed forward at her. Jolene positioned her blade, hoping to get at least one strike in before she perished. She didn’t think she’d survive this, but she refused to go down as simple prey.

The blade came close to Cecilia, but the wolf was fortunately quick to react. She caught Jolene’s weapon-wielding wrist as it jabbed and maneuvered the weapon away from her own body. Jolene went wide-eyed as she was pushed against the ground, held down roughly by the neck.

The child struggled, kicking her legs in a desperate protest. She pushed against Cecilia with her free hand, but it was all in vain. Even though it was soon to be her end, Jolene refused to show fear. She refused to show despair. She looked Cecilia straight in the eyes and fought back with everything she had in her...but it still wasn’t enough.

Her mind recollected something that she refused to die with, even through her resentment.

"Alphonso told me he was sorry! Be-before he died! He t-told me that he was s-sorry!" Jolene squeaked out.

Jolene was getting tired, and the pressure around her neck was constricting tighter. She was filled with such an indignant rage that she failed to register the first drop of liquid that had impacted her face.

It was only when two more landed upon her face that she fully noticed the deeply sadden expression that the alpha gave off. Cecilia’s eyes were now streaming tears as the alpha failed to hold back the whimpering.

“Jolene...let go of the knife.”

The human hadn’t even blinked, refusing to let the wolf’s unhappiness distract her.

“No.”

“Jolene, please...”

“No! **Noooo!** ” Jolene screamed as she convulsed underneath the wolf, seeing no freedom in sight.

“You we’re right about me.”

Jolene blinked, slightly easing her resistance upon hearing the words. The hand that wrapped around Jolene’s neck loosened.

“I’m... _broken_.” Cecilia chocked out as her hold on Jolene loosened even further.

The human frowned, her scowling expression finally giving out. Still, she quickly regarded the second block of wood that lay nearby through the help of the moon’s lighting through the open doors.

With a sudden and solid push, she barely managed to send Cecilia off of her and against the floor. Jolene seized her hands upon the solid plank of wood. Cecilia shuffled to her feet only to find the child quickly upon her.

“Jolene, w-”

Jolene brung the piece of timber down upon Cecilia’s head with a solid smack. The wolf’s body quivered and fell back to the ground. Jolene stood as frozen as ice, observing the now-unconscious Cecilia laid out in front of her.

The frozen stature was shattered, and the human’s mind filled with rage once again. Dropping the plank, Jolene picked her knife back up and positioned it above the alpha wolf’s chest, ready to bring it down and end this sick emotional game once and for all.

She pictured how she could finally be rid of the wolf that reintroduced so much more pain into her already heart-stricken life.

She pictured the alpha taking her last breath, the wolf unable to escape the full results of her own actions and being forced to face the consequences in the shadows of death.

And then...she lowered the knife back to her side. She began to ball out rivers of sadness she didn’t know she had left beside the mute she once called her caretaker.

Because just before she decided to spare Cecilia’s life, she pictured herself. A would-be life taker of another person precious to someone else.

Then she pictured _Margot_.

In the desolate cabin that she kneeled in, she ultimately realized that she would be no better. No better than the ruthless killers who took her parents away from her. 

Wordlessly, Jolene arose from her crying and grabbed hold of Cecilia’s wrist. She knew it would be a risky and challenging task, but she was going to try anyways.

She was going to drag Cecilia back home.

* * *

  
Jolene huffed as she stoically pushed through the hard job of towing Cecilia’s still form back through the forest. She had a rough estimate of how long it took her to get through after she tried to escape, so she mentally doubled that time in an attempt to roughly calculate how long it would take to get back with Cecilia.

And a laborious journey it was.

Half way through it, she had already registered she was being followed. It was only when she heard the growls alongside the confines of bushes and trees further out around her that she felt she had an idea of who they were..

Wolves slowly began to reveal themselves not far from her struggling form as she pulled Cecilia along the leafy ground. They began to grow in numbers the further she pulled forward. But despite this, Jolene continued on. Her mind was on the knife, but her true focus was on getting the alpha wolf home.

She was done with just about everything. With all that had happened, no one was going to stop her until she took her last breath.

A long, strained trek it was, but finally, Jolene had made it. By the time the human had reached Cecilia’s family home, there were more than ten wolves behind her. It took everything she had to refrain from turning around. Her eyes were instead met with the heartbroken forms of Cecilia’s children, who were all huddle around Alphonso’s deceased form.

Jolene caught their attention and the utter sadness that they gave back was unbearable to stare at. So she turned back around to face the wolf pack that stalked behind her. She already knew who they were.

“I killed Alphonso.” Jolene told them. “He was the one who killed your leader. Ty, right?”

One of the pack’s wolves stepped forward.

“That’s right.” it said, teeth revealed as it bared them at her small form.

“Leave this family alone, then. The one that killed him is dead now.” Jolene replied, pulling out the knife from it’s sheath.

The wolf that stepped forward look down towards the knife and trailed her eyes back to Jolene, who held a tired, deadly serious expression.

“...Or what? You think that killing him was enough? That’s not even close to what this is about.” The gray wolf advanced closer. “So how did you go about it? Did you sing your little nursery rhymes as you led them into a false sense of security? Maybe they offered themselves to die, ha!”

The wolf stopped within a short distance in front of the small child. “Or maybe the little lamb killed him in his sleep? All I know is-”

“I wont tell you again.” Jolene interrupted with painfully-gritted teeth as her grip on the knife doubled. She didn’t care anymore. She was already ready to die...she had to do this one thing. So it all wasn’t for nothing.

The wolf laughed deeply, giving the human a condescending glare.

“You’re right...you wont!”

The wolf lunged forward and leaped hungrily at the human, jaws wide open for the kill.

Jolene sucked in a breath of air through her lungs and waited for the wolf as it rapidly grew closer. Then she angled her knife and pushed upwards. The wolf crashed into Jolene’s as they both fell to the ground. All was quiet for a short while before Jolene eventually pushed the wolf off her, pulling the blade out of the bottom of it’s jaw.

The wolf's arrogance had cost it it's life.

The wolf children watched in stunned silence from behind her as Jolene wiped the blood from the blade using the grass. She got back up and faced the rest of the pack.

“Leave this territory now, or I won’t stop with just one. Your leader bared a grudge against the loss of this territory. Even though it was fought for and won fair and square by the very wolf that killed him. You don’t need to carry that grudge with you. Find someplace else. There’s been...enough pain caused here already.” Jolene said to the remaining pack.

“Just...start over. There doesn’t need to be another fight.” Jolene added boldly, though yet heart was pounding with uncertainty and apprehension.

Ty’s pack remained silent until one eventually spoke up.

“He was an asshole anyway. And so was the wolf you just killed...consider yourself lucky.” a broader wolf of the pack admitted, waving for his group. “Let’s go. We don’t need this place.”

Jolene stood erect and solid as they turned to disappear further into the forest, but her brave appearance quickly dissipated as they were out of sight, the human falling to her knees.

She refused to turn around and face the one’s she once called her siblings. The one who she once considered her sister. She had caused enough trouble. So she forced herself back up. She grabbed the leg of the wolf she killed and pulled it deeper back into the forest.

Even though she kept her sight low to the ground, aware that Margot was weakly calling out her name, she didn’t deny herself one last peek at Cecilia. The alpha remained still on the grass, getting further away with every pull of the wolf kill.

Jolene hoped that her decision to keep her alive wasn’t something she’d regret. She willed the thought of it maybe meaning something more through her head, but it struggled to stay for too long. All that mattered to her was getting away as far as possible from the place that broke her heart far too many times.

And that maybe she could find her way back to another place where she could start over once again. Where she could find solace from the anguish that the past year had brought upon her.

Although deep down, she doubted that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> It's not over yet. 
> 
> I hope keeping Cecilia alive (or Alpha Mom, whatever fancies you) was a little surprise.
> 
> Also love song recommendations. 'New Genius' by Gorillaz fits Jolene (I mean Wolf) perfectly in my opinion.


	10. Ouroboros

Every now and then, Jolene hovered around the circular forest clearing to reminiscence. Sometimes to just sit on one of the many abandoned, rusted cars and just zone off; to not think at all.

But most of all, she lingered by to maybe run into a possibility. A possibility that she’d run into them.

Her _parent killers_.

She made it a fundamental rule for herself that she would not stay for longer than a few minutes to avoid prying eyes, but she always found herself there regardless of how long...sometimes she would stare at a particular spot just in front of the entrance back into one side of the forest.

The same spot where her real mother had taken her last breath.

She had to forget.

She had to move on.

It was hard at first, but she kept on reminding herself that she omitted them to move forward. She forgot about it all to honor them, in a way. Because if she held on to the pain that was always associated with their deaths, it would only slow her down.

It’s why she didn’t worry about losing the marble they gave her.

She was not the same Jolene.

That Jolene entered the forest in fear.

The Jolene she was now had left unafraid.

Something caught the human’s attention as words sounded off in the distance. Not too close, yet not too far. This caused Jolene to slide off of the van and dash behind the closest tree, peeking from behind it and analyzing her situation. It was after the strangely familiar voices were picked up clearly for her that the bodies that made them were revealed fully to her.

**_They’re they were._ **

“It’s been a whole year. You sure there’s anything left here? Maybe we should just backtrack and-”

“No point in going all the way back without at least checking, dofus. Let’s just hurry it up and we’ll see what we see. We’ve already taken too long as it is.”

_**Her parent’s killers have come full circle.** _

Jolene rested her newly-crafted deathstalker against the tree and favored the blade that was pulled from it’s sheath in a slick fashion, the child’s fingers clinching inside and around the knuckle inserts with a deep-seated fury. Flickers and fragments of everything that had transpired in the span of nearly a year sliced clean through Jolene’s rationale and invaded her mind. Everything that had led her to first run into the forest had now led to this moment.

_**Ouroboros**_.

She would take them out nice and slow. So that they knew it was her.

And even though their eventual screams of agony, terror and confusion would undoubtedly bring more than just human attention, she worried not.

Even though she briefly pondered the chances of being able to handle them all by herself...she worried not.

Because ultimately...

She did not care.


	11. Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wolf lives in present times and comes back to an old memory.

“So is it Marsha?”

“No.”

“Jalen?”

“No.”

"Squeeeee?" 

"What? You know I can't understand you, Mandu."

“How about Mary?”

“How about no?”

“Is ‘No’ really your name? Or are you just messing with me? Cause it’s a pretty weird name, I gotta say.”

“...no.”

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“.....”

“Ok fine, I’ll just call you Wolf until I guess it right.”

  
Wolf should have never agreed to this stupid guessing game. But here she was, after promising to stay alone and out of sight, she managed to stumble upon Kipo. It’s only been a few days and Wolf has already nearly died three times and is waiting for the right time to pull her hair out.

Maybe her eyeballs too.

But if she had to be honest, Kipo was one of the better ones. Albeit a little out of the circle on how things work on the surface, but she’s managed to pull her own weight...barely. And even though she nearly put the jab-down on her new companion with her precious Stalky after she ran into her, Kipo had eventually talked her into calming down and even proposed a mutual proposition. 

That Wolf would help her find her way back to her burrow and with her dad.

  
And what was in it for Wolf?

She’d get to go on a _kick-ass_ adventure with her and the bright blue pig Mute she nearly killed!

Well, she didn’t say that, but it’s basically what she meant.

Wolf agreed because what else was she to do? Her hideout was now the opposite of safe after dispatching of the first Deathstalker Scorpion that had found a way through overnight.

More followed suit after that and the rest was history. Got a nice tail stinger for the end of her new metal staff out of it all though. So she wasn’t _completely_ mad.

“Ooooh! Is it Jessica?” Kipo piped up suddenly.

“Shhhh! Someone will hear us! And do I look like a Jessica to you?” Wolf replied, her eyes remaining fixed on the road in front of her. She tightened the grey wolf cloak that consoled around her.

Finally reaching the road’s end, the building they were searching for had finally revealed itself through some exceptionally tall bushes. Wolf crouched ahead of Kipo and Mandu to double-check, looking across the streets and through the shattered windows of the structure they actively targeted.

“Alright, it looks clear so far. Let’s make are way to to side of the building... _quietly_.”

“Is it Jolene?”

  
Wolf suddenly paused in her attempt to cross over the thick bushes.

  
_Five years._

  
For five years, she’d managed to traverse and escape the quarrels of her slightly younger years. But the jaws of the dead and buried that was her past kept snapping around her ankles, and by the looks of it, they were there the whole time. 

She never actually thought Kipo would guess right. She just wanted something to keep her occupied so she could focus on the task at hand without all of the prodding. To get Kipo’s mind elsewhere and to stop asking about her past and where she came from. And why she was wearing a wolf’s pelt.

Well, it didn’t last that long.

Wolf’s hold on her deathstalker doubled as she strained to hold back the feelings of times long passed. Still, she managed. Those days wouldn’t keep her down any longer. 

“No.” Jolene finally answered, her face out of Kipo’s sight. “Just go with Wolf. Game’s over. Let’s just loot the place and get out quick.”

* * *

  
The sun was low and on it’s last hour.

The forest Wolf and Kipo had traversed back through was now under the skies of a nearly-complete darkness. Luckily for them, Wolf was used to traversing through the night. The building scavenge was a scarce win for them, but they had at least managed to snag a few helpful things: a can opener, a pocket knife and a few cans of peas. Good enough was better than nothing, after all.

Well, there was something else...but it wasn’t exactly useful...to Wolf, at least.

“Come on, Wolf. They look adorable!” Kipo said, pointing to the pink cat ear headbands she proudly wore upon her head. “Try them on for just two seconds and I swear I’ll stop talking for the rest of the night?”

 _‘Tempting...’_ Wolf thought to herself. _‘But...’_

“Nice try, but it’s already resting time. Won’t have any reason to talk soon. I’m going to get some sticks for the fire. _Don’t...move._ ” Wolf instructed, emphasizing with her hands.

Kipo smiled and sat next to a tree with a tired Mandu resting beside her, taking another look at the cat ears head decoration now in her hands.

“I’ll be right here. Don’t worry.”

Wolf double-took before she removed her travel satchel from around her neck and went a little ways off, swiftly climbing up a tree and snapping off a collection of decently-sized branches. She came back with a fair amount and placed them in a pile so she could dig a pit for the fire.

  
Not long after, a flame was created and the wood set ablaze. 

“I’m really grateful that I met you, Wolf. Really. Like, I know I’m not all survival-savvy or anything like that...but I appreciate you going the extra mile for me, anyways.” Kipo rubbed the back of her neck and laid down on the pile of leaves made as a makeshift pillow.

“Yeah, no problem.” Wolf said simply, still gazing into the fire.

Deep down, Wolf was grateful, too. After the deathstalker scorpion incident, she really didn’t know where she going. She just knew she had to survive. So when she ran into the eccentric, purple-skinned gal, she slowly felt another purpose growing taller inside of her. Something more than just surviving. Something she had tried for so long to avoid.

  
It was surviving _together_.

  
“Kipo...I’ll stand watch for a few more minutes, you can go to sleep. Just going to play it safe tonight.”

Wolf heard the slight crunching of the leaves Kipo shifted upon before she got her reply.

“Mmm okay...goodnight Wolf.”

Long after Kipo had fallen asleep with Mandu, Jolene continued to stare into the campfire, her eyes reflecting the flames.

Everything that occurred in the past, had led to the present.

Led her to stare at the flames in the dark of this chilly night.

  
Wolf had moved on a subconscious instinct, grabbing her satchel and reaching around inside before she felt a familiar shape. She pulled out a small book and ran her eyes over the cover.

_The Art Of Bojutsu_.

She slowly opened to the first page and stumbled upon what she was looking for immediately after. Something she had read a couple times before and had refused to come back to for a long time.

Until now.

So she went back over the writing, not caring about the sincerity or lack thereof laced in the permanent ink. It's very existence on the page was enough.

It was written in blue.

  
**_Something to help aid you and your skills through the darkest of days._ **

**_From one wolf to another._ **

**_-Love, your friend. Cecilia._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending Song: [SIAMES -No Lullaby](https://youtu.be/pMiEONuCqjI)
> 
> A/N:
> 
> Well, here we are. Finally at the end.
> 
> Jolene's past may be over, but Las Vistas holds a story much bigger that is soon to unfold...
> 
> Thanks for reading.


End file.
